


Redemption of Thorns

by Jevil_Joss



Series: The Saga of House Rose [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Dealing With Guilt, F/F, F/M, Hurt and comfort, Vampire AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 37,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27891871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss
Summary: There were the miracles you asked for, and then the ones that God gives you. Yang was about to unexpectedly receive both.
Relationships: Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Yang Xiao Long/Weiss Schnee
Series: The Saga of House Rose [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047832
Comments: 27
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct sequel to "The Court of Roses"(linked below). Parts will be ridiculous and confusing if you do not read that one first. 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24312349/chapters/58610650

"It's kind of hard to believe it's our first winter here. Cinder has been really nice to us. I thought she'd just give us a replacement to House Rose, but--I think I like this better. There's so many people here! I can't often think of what to say to them, but...it's cool that they're there! There there. Eh heh. Oi. Cinder gave us a lot of servants to help us, but...honestly, we don't need them. I can do most of that stuff myself...though having someone other than Dad to do the cooking is great.

"Cinder doesn't seem to 'like' us, as people, though. It's just the impression I get...she thinks we're good people and she's thankful to us for saving her, but she seems to consider us more 'allies' than 'friends'. Mercury doesn't seem to care one way or the other, while Emerald...God, I don't know what her problem is but she despises us with a passion. Just...wow. I didn't think anyone could hate us more than Blake did, but she somehow manages to. She barely seems to tolerate us. Part of me is glad that Nora, Ren, and Neo went to their home--all the way back in that village. If there were more people, I don't think Emerald could take it on the rare days she's here."

"Ruby?" a voice called out. Winter stepped out a door behind Ruby. "Dinner is ready."

"Alright! I'll be up in a minute!" Ruby called back. Winter left, and Ruby turned back. "Miss you, Mom," she said, voice cracking as she kneeled down before the headstone. "You were so great to us. I'm just...now that you're not here...I don't know what to do. What's next?" She broke down, crying. 

"I miss you."


	2. Chapter 2

Yang woke up as she did every morning--still tired and hungry. Many would have assumed that the want to drink blood would be a thirst. In truth, even 'hunger' didn't properly describe it. 

She sat up, clutching her stomach, hissing through clenched teeth. Her stomach growled. She breathed heavy, then moved out of bed. She pulled on a pair of pants, threw a brown jacket, and pulled a pair of fingerless gloves out of her nightstand. She didn't care for gloves. They bothered her while she was painting. However, the fact that her knuckles now had a gray shell over them, she felt like she needed something to cover them. 

Yang, contrary to some people's assumptions, put quite a bit of work into her hair. She was about to start combing it when her stomach growled again, more insistently. She stumbled away from her mirror, sitting down, and clutching her stomach. 

A knock came at her door. "Come--" Yang coughed, her mouth suddenly dry. She sniffed, smelling the scents that she now associated with Weiss's presence. Weiss. Her love. The woman she'd done the unthinkable to save. Some of Weiss's blood had been spilled during the fight with Knucklavee. In order to take him down, Yang had drunk some of it. 

Something that she would never regret, no matter what happened to her. 

"Come in," Yang called out. 

Weiss's shoes clicked against the ground as she strode over, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. Weiss sat next to her, not saying anything quite yet. 

"You okay?" Weiss asked finally.

"As okay as I get," Yang said. "Winter doesn't have this problem?"

"No." Weiss began running one of her hands through Yang's hair, slowly. She stopped abruptly, and Yang knew why. For many, twenty was the prime of youth. Yang wouldn't live long beyond her fiftieth birthday--so twenty-two was her forty. Her joints felt sore, and a decent amount of her hair had started to turn white. 

Yang started to rise, but Weiss pulled her back down. Yang looked to the human girl, raising an eyebrow. 

"Are you _really_ okay?"

"No." Yang looked away, up towards the door that had swung closed. "I'm...getting old. Judging by how Blake was when she lived--Blake never really got old. She just...stopped."

"Well, you're stuck with me another thirty years," Weiss said, kissing Yang's cheek. She grabbed Yang's hand in her own, and Yang felt the reassuring presence of the ring Weiss wore on her finger. The Dhampir smiled slightly, leaning against Weiss. "You can't escape me till then."

"Not like I want to," Yang chuckled. _Till death do us part._ _That was the deal._

"You're thinking of Summer?" Weiss asked. 

"Yeah. She's been on my mind a lot here lately. I just...I didn't have long with her. Why did I spend so much of it arguing with her? So much anger at her. She never did anything to me. She tried her best."

Summer had passed away the year before, while Yang was visiting her mother, Raven. Almost a month later, when Yang came back, she heard what had happened. Summer had been seated in a chair, talking with Ruby, when she suddenly fell silent, eyes closed, breathing shallow. 

The last breaths she took. 

"You haven't gone to visit Raven in a while," Weiss said. "We'll all be here when you get back."

"But _she_ wasn't," Yang said. 

"You can't cut people out of your life simply because you're scared that the rest of your friends and family will go," Weiss stated. "You ought to go talk to Raven again."

"Maybe...I just wish I could speak to Summer one last time," Yang said. "Tell her how sorry I am for how I treated her. How I--" She looked up, an entirely different expression on her face. She jumped up, the bed bouncing and Weiss falling backwards. She propped herself up on her hands, mildly alarmed as Yang rushed to a chest kept in the corner of the room. She pulled the latch open, and pulled out a thick, black-covered book. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Yang muttered, flipping through pages. The book was clearly an old on--so it had been handwritten. It took Weiss only a moment to figure out what was in it. 

"What do you plan on doing?" Weiss asked. 

Yang found the spell she wanted. "Aha!" She sat besides Weiss again, grinning at her wife as she showed her the page. "This can resurrect the dead for short period of time. Four hours, it says. I can actually talk to her one last--" She stopped, seeing Weiss's face, and her own fell. 

"I know you miss her. I miss her, too, even though I only knew her a fraction of the time you did." Weiss reached over, and gently closed the book. "But let her rest in peace. The dead should stay dead." She hugged Yang close, squeezing her shoulders as Yang quietly sobbed. 


	3. Chapter 3

The clock struck midnight, and, for once, Yang wasn't sleeping. The odd thing was, she didn't even feel tired right now. She rose from bed carefully, so she wouldn't wake Weiss, and dressed. 

"Sorry, Ice Queen," she murmured, fixing the blanket over her spouse. Weiss turned, muttering in her sleep, but didn't wake. Yang went to the side of the room, opening the chest and pulled out a book with a pitch black cover. She left the room, being very careful with the door so she didn't wake Weiss. 

Very few of the servants were vampires, so Yang was able to move quickly without any stops. She would have gone straight out and cast the spell, but the problem was, it required two people to cast and had to resurrect two people. A vampire, and a human, to 'ground them to the Earth'. Yang was sure she could find some random human to resurrect for a few hours, to talk with a loved one--maybe one of the servants? But the problem was, humans couldn't use magic. So she needed another vampire to cast her spell. 

Taiyang and Ruby were in a lounge, sipping herbal tea before they went to bed. Both were surprised to see Yang up and about, which meant that she couldn't immediately tell them about her plan. They listened as she explained the spell, but both shook their heads when she'd finished. 

"I miss her, too, but she was ready for it," Ruby said. "I can't drag her back here. Can't...can't she just rest? A hundred and thirty isn't young, Yang."

"This isn't the way," Taiyang told her, shaking his head. "I know how you--"

"No you don't," Yang spat, turning and striding from the room. There were plenty of vampires around. But none she could trust. 

_One._ One she could trust. 

She quickly strode down to the stables, where she found a vampire servant. "Ilia, was it?" Yang asked.

She nodded, bowing slightly. "What can I do for you, Miss Long?"

"I need a carriage," Yang said. It was too dark, and too cold, to walk to the small house. She tucked the book under one arm as Ilia got the carriage ready, then jumped to the driver's seat. "Where too?" she asked. Yang got in, saying only, "Pyrrha."

This was, luckily, enough, as she didn't have the energy for more words. The carriage started moving, as did her thoughts. 

Humans were 'grounded'. They were natural creatures of the Earth. Vampires were almost completely magical. In order to drag a vampire's soul from heaven even for a limited time, you had to have something natural brought with them to help keep the vampire grounded. Theoretically, the book read, it was possible to resurrect only a vampire, but the raw magical power required--the sheer force of power that would take--was more than every vampire in the kingdom combined. Nothing that powerful had ever been seen before. 

However, her only shot right now was something that wasn't quite as grounded as a human was. Dhampirs were both natural and full of magic. In the realm of theoreticals, Yang thought, a dhampir could ground a vampire soul to Earth. In a way, a dhampir soul was probably just as much in need of grounding, but she had to work with what she could. 

Even if that meant reviving Blake Belladonna for a few hours. What was the worst she could do, anyway?

 _Okay. This woman has done worse in four hours than I have done in my life. She could do a lot of damage, if she chose._ But she hadn't chosen. Blake was psychotic, but she also had a sense of preservation. In the end, she had surrendered rather than fight to the bitter end because she felt that no one _needed_ to die that day. 

Blake had died the same day Summer had. Almost poetic, in a way. Both remnants of a war had passed away of old age, Summer at a hundred and thirty, Blake at seventy-four. In the end, no amount of speculating changed anything. The spell would work or it wouldn't. The thing she needed to worry about was Pyrrha. 

As the carriage pulled to a stop, Yang got out almost before it stopped. "Wait here about five hours," she told Ilia. She handed a purse of coins to the vampire, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to."

Pyrrha had been given many options on where to live. She had ultimately chosen the one Cinder had been most surprised by--a small, simple stonework house. It had only one floor, and mostly consisted of one room. 

Yang opened the door, seeing a small table in the center of the room. The far end was occupied by a massive brick hearth and fireplace, where Pyrrha slid logs into. She had her back to the door, but her motions made it clear she knew who had come in. She had a blanket over her shoulders. 

To the side was a small pile of unwashed dishes in a sink. Thanks to the miracles of science, plumbing was available in most houses, which made some chores quite a bit easier. Besides the sink was a pantry, then a pair of beds, made the exact same way with gray blankets on top. Yang looked to the other side of the room, where several more beds sat. Pyrrha lived alone, and, if what Emerald said was true, never had guests besides, occasionally, Jaune Arc and one of his many sisters, asking for advice on this or that vampire related thing. Overall, his family had reacted fairly well to learning he was a vampire, and he was currently staying with one of his married sisters in the vampire capital. Why she had moved there, Yang wasn't clear, but she had. 

_Maybe she just likes beds,_ Yang thought. This was her first time going to the redheaded vampire's home. She had talked with her a few times, but Pyrrha didn't care much for company. At least, usually. 

Yang sat down at the small table, cross-legged. She waited impatiently on Pyrrha, who, after what seemed like forever, got the fire into a comfortable state and then turned around to face her guest. "I'm going to assume," she began, "that you are not coming here in the middle of the night to invite me to a party or something."

Yang was too tired to speak right this moment, so she slid the book over, opened to the spell. Pyrrha frowned, but read through the two pages quickly. A flicker of surprise registered on her face, then she said, "And who--who were you wanting to resurrect?" But Yang knew she already knew the answer. 

"I need to speak to my mother one last time, and to ground her to Earth...you can speak to Blake one last time. Our last goodbyes, Pyrrha. That we never got." 

Pyrrha had been in her home when she'd got the news that Blake had died. It had come suddenly, striking like a hammer to a bell. 

"It says that you need to resurrect a vampire and a _human,_ " Pyrrha pointed out. 

"Shouldn't a dhampir work every bit as well as a human to ground the spell?" Yang asked. "Maybe it won't work. But I'm not going to sit back and not even try to speak to Mom. I've...done too much of that already. We were always at each other's throats. We never...we never spent time with just us..."

"You don't need to justify yourself to me," Pyrrha said firmly. She nodded, and Yang wiped her eyes. "Let's do this."

A few words, spoken in a language that hadn't been used for conversation in centuries. The two held hands, working their magic around in a circle. Yang finished the spell, waiting tensely. The magic hung in the air, ready to act. But then, slowly, it filtered out, gone. 

Nothing happened. Neither spoke. 

"A worthy effort," Pyrrha sighed, face falling. "God has other plans for us, it seems." 

"Maybe it just hasn't worked yet," Yang said, looking around. She opened the book, scanning the words. "Maybe we did it wrong? No. We did it right. Maybe--it should have called them right here! What's--why--"

Pyrrha didn't say anything. The two sat there for hours, waiting. Finally, Yang gave up. She stood up, without saying anything, and left. 

"Everything alright?" Ilia asked as Yang came over. "You were there longer than you said you'd be. I was about ready to go out and check to make sure you hadn't passed out or--"

"Just take me home."


	4. Chapter 4

Yang wanted to be alone. Luckily, there was a room in the castle where she could be. A garden area in one of the many sideways towers sticking off the castle. It had a glass roof, and even if the snow covered it, light streamed in through the glass walls. It was beautiful, and so long as Yang kept clear of the back row of poppy flowers, it never failed to let her clear her head. Get some rest. 

She opened the door to find Weiss sitting at the glass table, sipping tea in a chair. As far as Yang had been concerned, Weiss did not like gardening or gardens, so she was momentarily stunned when she found her wife sitting there, staring at her.

"I have been insulted," Weiss stated calmly, sipping tea. "You really thought when I saw you gone this morning, I wouldn't guess what you were doing?"

"I didn't think of it," Yang said. "Give me a break, I was running on about a quarter of the sleep I normally get." She stumbled across the room, dropping the book on the table and sitting down on the ground, dropping her head into Weiss's lap. 

"Well?"

"It didn't work."

Weiss breathed in sharply. "You poor thing. After all that...it's probably for the best, anyway."

"I'm tired." 

"Go to sleep. You were up hours earlier than you ever are." She ran a hand through Yang's hair as the dhampir gave in to exhaustion and slept. 

It had been early morning when Yang had returned. Now, she saw that the sun had progressed almost completely across the sky. Then she heard what she guessed had woken her. Voices. A lot of excited, raised voices. Someone in the distance cried, "Hallelujah!", something that was both reassuring, and worrying. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Weiss said. She had reached out her hand to grab her rapier. Her cup of tea sat on the table, cold and forgotten. Evidently, she hadn't drank the hot tea with Yang in her lap. 

Yang sniffed, taking in several smells. Ruby. Taiyang. The vampire queen, Cinder. And...and...

Yang jumped to her feet, Weiss following her. Yang's heart beat rapidly. The door burst open, and a slight figure walked into the room, feet making no sound. A white cloak, black-and-red hair. Two blazing silver eyes. A black and white dress, knee-high boots. 

Summer Rose, master vampire, lord of House Rose. 

"Summer?" Yang whispered. 

"When I suddenly found myself alive again, I was greatly confused," Summer began, "but when Tai and Ruby got over their shock, they both shared a look and said simply, 'Yang'."

Ruby and Taiyang were right behind Summer, both standing on her right, glaring down Yang. Then, Cinder marched in, looking angry. She didn't have the illusion up--all the servants were aware of who she was, of course. Given the situation, Cinder couldn't have kept them from knowing. Despite the cold, she didn't wear any thick clothing. Her normal red dress. She closed the door behind them, adding, "I am very curious as to why a dead woman is walking my halls, and why everyone seems to think you know why."

"I--I--" Yang stuttered, scratching her head awkwardly. "I--the book said it was only for a couple hours immediately afterwards. I--"

Weiss's hand crept into Yang's, reassuring, comforting. "Continue," Weiss pressed. 

"The spell said it could resurrect people for a couple of hours," Yang stammered. "And...after all the fighting we did...I...wanted to say I was sorry...and to say goodbye...like I didn't get to..."

"You completely ignored everyone telling you that you shouldn't!" Ruby burst out. "Yang! Why didn't you listen to us?"

_"Enough."_

Summer's firm, clear voice interrupted everyone. All eyes turned to her, and Yang realized something. Summer looked _young._ Younger than Yang herself was. She stepped over, and pulled Yang into a hug. She let go, then turned to the others. "Really?" she said. "Going to berate her for grieving me? I'm about as insulted as she should be." Ruby looked away, suddenly unable to meet Summer's gaze. Even Tai failed to properly look her in the eye. Cinder sighed, sitting in a nearby chair and rubbing her face. With one hand, she idly scratched her burn scar. 

"No one is really hurt, and if Summer isn't angry--"

"I actually am, but that can wait till later," Summer said, turning her glare to Yang. 

"My real question is--how badly did you mess up that spell?" Cinder asked. She held up one hand, a ring of fire appearing around her wrist. "It is one thing to fail in the casting of a spell, and quite another to fail so spectacularly that you manage to actually succeed in something a million times harder than what you were trying to do."

"I don't know," Yang said, picking up the book. "I did everything right. Two people casting. All the right words. I--oh. OH."

"Yang, I love you, but I must ask--for the love of God and the entire heavenly chorus of angels, _what did you do?_ " Weiss demanded. 

"The spell has to resurrect two people," Yang said. "A vampire, and a human to 'ground them to the Earth'. Um. So, I didn't think I could just resurrect any random human--and uh--I needed Pyrrha to help me with the spell, anyway. She was the only one I could get to help...and I could trust not to stop me or anything like that...and...I thought...if a human could ground vampires, what about a half-human?"

There was a stunned silence. "You're not meaning to tell me..." Cinder whispered. 

Pyrrha stretched, joints popping, then shoved another log into the fire. She hummed a little tune to herself as she fed the fire. She stopped, freezing, when she heard the voice speak. 

"How long has it been since my death?" Blake's voice came. Pyrrha turned, seeing the dhampir sitting on one of the beds, inspecting her fingernails. Not even the dark gray claws, actual fingernails. She looked and saw Blake like she hadn't been in the entire time Pyrrha had known her. Youthful, almost _human_ looking. Except for the two dark, gray tentacles coming out of her back and, less noticeably, the cat ears atop her head. 

"Have I gone mad?" Pyrrha whispered. "You died. How are you here?"

"Ah, I did die. Glad to know I didn't imagine it." Blake laughed, musically, then jumped off the bed, landing in a crouch in front of Pyrrha. She sat down, crossing her legs. She reached out, taking Pyrrha's hands in her own. "Do I feel like a ghost? Do I feel like a hallucination? No. I'm back. Flesh and blood, and my mind is _mine._ My thoughts and opinions are my thoughts and opinions. With my return, I am _cured._ "

Pyrrha felt no connection through her blood bond with Blake--meaning it had died with Blake, and hadn't come back with her. The influence of years of drinking human blood was now gone. "You thought to bring me back for a few hours, but I am _back._ "

"How did you know about that?" Pyrrha gasped. 

"He told me."

"Who?"

Blake thumbed vaguely upwards. "Him. When He told me I could come back."

Pyrrha crossed herself, almost subconsciously. Blake laughed again, then said, "Now. We have a bit to talk about."


	5. Chapter 5

Cinder rubbed her forehead, leaning backwards. "Yang," she said. "Why resurrect Blake?"

"It was supposed to be a couple hours," Yang spluttered, reading through the spell again. "I thought trying to bring back a dhampir would make the spell less likely to work, not a million times more powerful."

"Um--I hate to bring this up, but do we _know_ its permanent?" Ruby asked hesitantly. "How do we know she's not just--going to--you know."

"I'm back," Summer said firmly. " _He_ \--God--I can't remember, so fuzzy." She sat on the table, rubbing her temple. "I--I was in Heaven. The afterlife. He came to me--and Blake, yeah--I can't remember. Dammit."

There was a stunned silence. "Why's everyone giving me looks?" Summer burst out. "Not the first time you've seen me forget something, to be sure! I kept forgetting my own age, you know."

"She's...tiny." Summer shot a glare to Cinder, who was eyeing her. "You're thinner, less muscular than you were last time. You look more like the farm girl Salem described and less like the War Rose. I also wonder, how's your leg?"

Summer grinned, then jumped up onto the edge of the table, balancing precariously on one leg. She rapidly swapped between her legs, grinning. "Like it hasn't been in--" The table flipped, and she fell off the table, hitting the ground and the table landing on top of her. Weiss's cold and forgotten cup of tea fell and splashed in her face. 

Yang rushed over, shoving the table to the side and helping Summer to her feet. Summer brushed her away, jumping to her feet herself. "You get the point," she said, red in the face. "What do we do about Blake?"

"When did Blake drink human blood for the first time?" Weiss asked. "If you don't have your leg injury, then maybe--maybe Blake's body was put into a state before she lost her sanity to the blood." 

"Does it work like that?" Summer asked, frowning. 

"Yeah," Yang said simply. Normal blood simply passed through the body, like food did. When you drank human blood, it stayed. The carapace that had grown over Yang's knuckles was made of the blood she had drunk. 

"The war began thirty-four years ago," Summer said slowly. "That's when Blake drank human blood for the first time. But she will have some remnant of it now." She pulled up her shirt sleeve, revealing a thin line of gray up the length of her arm. She pulled her shirt sleeve back down.

"How do we find her?" Cinder said. "There's no use speculating what she'll be like if we never find her until it's too late."

They all considered the question, then all cried out at once, "Pyrrha."

Ilia stopped the carriage once again in front of Pyrrha's house. Yang, Weiss, Ruby, and Summer all stepped out. Taiyang had stayed behind with Cinder, helping her manage a few governmental issues while Emerald was away on business. He would have come anyway, but Summer said that they could take Blake if she did attack, as she would be a lot weaker now, and that the chance that Blake would attack was very low. 

Pyrrha opened the door even before Yang had knocked. She looked between the four of them, her eyes falling on Summer. Then, she turned to Yang and said icily, "You missed her by twenty minutes."

"So she was here," Yang said. Pyrrha grabbed her roughly by the ear, pulling and yanking her hard. "What did you tell me? Four hours? How long has it been, Xiao Long?"

"F-five?"

" _Eight._ She's back." Pyrrha let her go, then embraced her in a hug. "You...cured her. She can think clearly now. And our blood bond is gone. I--I--"

"Where did she go?" Summer asked.

Pyrrha stepped back inside her doorway, frowning. "She thought it would be safer if she put as much distance between her and Salem--as well as you three--as possible. She started heading across the border, to the human capital. The chance of her getting caught is next to none."

"So that's that?" Ruby said, shrugging helplessly. "I mean, even if we do find her and catch up to her, what's the point?"

"If my friend is finally well again," Summer growled, "you can be damned sure that I'm going to go greet her. The problem is, I won't be able to easily get a carriage to go all that way on short notice..."

"Oh, I might be able to help with that," Pyrrha said with a smile. 


	6. Chapter 6

"This will be a much longer trip than I normally make, but I really can't complain," Jaune said as the carriage started moving. He sat up in the driver's seat, with his sister, Saffron. "The Arcs have long owned a large amount of carriages. Carrying people across the country is our job!"

"And you're sure you're okay heading towards Blake?" Yang asked. "After she..."

"It's not like I'm going to be walking up next to her," Jaune scoffed. "I plan on keeping my distance, let me tell you that. If anyone had issues, I'd expect it to be Miss Schnee, but she's tough. Like my grandma!"

Weiss glared up at his back. She sat with Yang in the backend seat. Underneath Jaune, Ruby sat in the middle with Summer on her right and Pyrrha far to her left. Pyrrha had wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, holding her spear in her hand. She remained silent. 

"Where are we even headed?" Yang asked. "Do we have a plan?"

"I dunno about a plan, but me and Jaune made a map!" Saffron called out. "We figured that Blake would take the shortest route across the border. Which, coincidentally, is the one that you guys took a few years back. We'll have to stop in Vale for supplies, because no one has tried moving back into Mantle yet. And, like I feel Blake is doing, we'll be skipping over Menagerie entirely. I have a bit of a hunch that she might stop by her old base in Atlas, as well as the fact that's where the remains of House Rose lie, and it is the first town you see across the border. Uh, most of you guys might want to stay inside while we're there, though, because a lot of the human-side border towns get really superstitious about the vampires."

"I have no idea where any of those towns are besides Menagerie," Yang said. 

"Mantle is the town Blake pillaged on our journey," Weiss said. "Where we met Winter." Winter had also elected to stay behind, though more out of choice than Taiyang. She had no wishes to meet Blake again, and was rather wrapped up in her career as a fencing instructor. "Vale is another town that is technically in vampire territory. It's quite a bit west of Mantle, and actually fairly close to where Raven lives. We might want to make a detour, and ask Raven if Blake passed through her woods."

"She would know," Yang agreed. 

"Do we have to?" Pyrrha asked. Weiss remembered the torture Pyrrha had suffered from Raven, and shuddered. "Yang and I can go over and make it quick," she said. "Jaune, when we get there, you can take the carriage around the woods, so as to avoid any...unpleasant meetings with Raven's men, Yang and I will meet you on the other end."

"We can discuss it in more detail once we get to Vale," Jaune said. 

"Kay." There was a long, awkward silence. "How far till our next stop?" Yang asked. 

"It's a couple of days till we get to Vale," Jaune said, "but we are likely to meet Blake on the road on the way there."

They almost certainly would have, had it not been for two, unforeseen things. Blake had run from the capital fast, and that she had reached Menagerie by the day's end. 

Blake stepped inside the church doors, touching the scorched wood. _I set it alight as I left,_ she thought, regret filling her. Most of the building was stone, but now most of the insides were charred crisp, or missing. She looked up to the altar, where her fight with Adam had ended during their first duel. Had she really shattered an altar to God? She shook her head, moving through the building into the cemetery in the back. She kneeled in front of her parents' grave, hands clasped in front of her. "Sorry, Mom, sorry Dad," she said. "I...made some mistakes. More than you expected me to. As I'm sure you've heard by now, I was given a second chance. I...I need to earn Heaven. I can't just go up there. I need to earn it. I don't need to be a saint, but I want to avoid being just another sinner. I don't know how I'll do it just yet, but...hey. One thing at a time.

"Goodbye." She rose, sighing. Then, she grabbed the statue, grunting with effort and flipping it over. Like Summer, she was fond of secret entrances and exits. With her foot, she lifted the latch, taking the steps downward two at a time. Torches lining the walls lit up with purple flame. Dust crystals glowed in the presence of magic. It was disheartening, seeing the small size of the lights. Blake remembered when they blazed almost a foot high each. She came to the end of the passageway, where a stone chest sat. 

Blake opened it, seeing the emergency essentials she'd stowed in case the war ended poorly. She pulled out two copies of Gambol Shroud, then with a shock realized her fighting style wouldn't work anymore. Missing the majority of her magical power, she couldn't control blood to such a scale. 

She flexed the gray tentacles on her back. They might be a decent substitute, in any case. She put on a belt and sheathed the blades, digging through the chest. A cloak, which she put on. Several miscellaneous supplies that she had no need for. There, in the bottom of the chest, she found what she wanted. A book, bound with aged leather. Presumably, a different copy than the one that Yang had somehow acquired. But it had what Blake needed to start repaying people her crimes. 

She rose the steps, closing the hatch behind her. The statue boomed against the ground as Blake jumped the wall around the cemetery, rather than going back through the ruined church. The ground shook, and she turned back in time to see one of the towers collapsing on top of the main building. She watched as the aged stones broke, her home falling to rubble and ruin. 

Awfully poetic, in a way. She strode down the snowy streets of her childhood town, remembering which buildings she had went to, and what for. It would never be like it had back then. But maybe, just maybe, she could get close. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright. We'll head through the woods, and meet you on the other side," Yang said. "I'll check in with Mom, see if Blake has been through."

 _Check in with 'mom'?_ Summer thought. Part of her felt hurt by that. On the other hand, Raven was Yang's _actual_ mom. And apparently, Yang had spent an entire year thinking of every bad thing she'd done to Summer, so whining and complaining about semantics was not really a good idea. Yang and Weiss took each other's hands, nodded once, and then walked off, down the path into the woods. "Any of you ever met Raven?" she asked. 

"She had a mask made out of vampire skin," Ruby said. 

"She...did not make a good first impression," Pyrrha said flatly. 

"She kind of tortured Pyrrha," Ruby added. Pyrrha punched her shoulder, hard. Ruby rubbed her head. "Why did she do that again?"

"Knucklavee's acidic blood ruined a sword, and Raven wanted to know what did it," Pyrrha said. "She was worried about her tribe. At the same time--"

"It fits what Tai told me about her," Summer said. 

"What did he say bout her?" Pyrrha asked. 

"Not much," Summer replied. 

Yang hopped over a log, weaving around brush and branch. Weiss kept pace with her, slightly ahead. Yang stumbled over a particularly high branch, and Weiss caught her and helped lift her over it. 

"That was embarrassing," Yang muttered. 

"I suppose we'll both have to get used to it," Weiss said. She took Yang's hand, leading her on. 

"I don't want to get used to that," Yang muttered. "Maybe I can find a spell of eternal youth, so even when I die of age, I'm still youthful."

"Maybe let's not break nature," Weiss said. "I'm sure God made it like this for a reason."

Yang rolled her eyes. "You know, the thing is...I never really believed in Him much. But...Summer said she was in Heaven."

"Who knows? Who cares? Pray to Him, and maybe He'll give you some answers. Otherwise, why waste a lot of time with that stuff?"

"Perhaps. But--" She stopped short, feet crunching the snow. "Where is everyone?"

"Where is everything?" Weiss added. "Most of the tents are missing."

The two walked further into the abandoned camp, looking around. "Mom?" Yang called out. She stepped up to Raven's tent, going inside. The floor was bare, her small table gone. The chest, gone. Yang lifted a rapier from the ground, feeling the blade. "Blunt."

"That's the one I threw at Knucklavee," Weiss said. "She kept it. Or...I guess she didn't, as she didn't take it with them when they left."

"I guess they moved," Yang said. "Bandits move camp at times, right?"

"I wouldn't know," Weiss shrugged. 

Yang left the tent, examining the camp. She shivered slightly in the cold, then saw something. The cage wagon where Weiss had been held captive two years ago, its door hanging open. Yang strode over, seeing the emerald green sword buried in the floor of the wagon. She reached over, picked it up, pulling it out. A note was tied to the hilt. She took it off, but it disintegrated into particles. 

"Paper doesn't do well in the stormy weather we've been having," Weiss said. "She must have thought you were only a day or so away from visiting. Given that, it must have been...four months ago? Five?"

Yang held up the green sabre. "This is good quality. Who's sword was this?"

"I don't know," Weiss said. "I don't think it matters, though."

"I disagree," Yang replied. 


	8. Chapter 8

Their group was called the Gluttons, and they were about as bad as vampires could possibly get. Penny Polendina loathed having anything to do with them, but it was a regrettable necessity. 

Green armor clinked across the ground as she strode through the halls of creatures that couldn't be called vampires without offending the other vampires. She pushed open the double doors, forcing a smile onto her face. The table in the center of the room was triangular, but one of the chairs was empty. Perhaps there was a story behind this, but it wasn't why Penny was here. A pair of dhampirs served the table, laying down an endless feast for the creatures that occupied the other two chairs. Fruits, pies, pastries, and roasted human flesh. The same humans that were undoubtedly used to breed the two dhampir servants--a horrible practice that had, thankfully, been outlawed by vampires centuries ago. The two gluttons turned as Penny strode halfway to the table. The one on the right had a massive pair of jaws shaped in a semicircle. It's hands were huge, with three fingers, perfect for shoveling food into its mouth. It wore armor, but it was so stained with grease and blood it was hard to tell. It had a small row of spines, super small and hard to see, right at the base where its neck should have been. 

The other glutton was, thankfully, slightly more human looking. Her head stretched out into a series of what looked like branches but were more likely antlers. One of her eyes was red, without pupil, but the other was a normal eye, with blue iris. She wore no armor--or clothes in general--and had long arms, ending in long fingers. The fingers, however, bended in far more places than any human finger could. The worst part about the arms was that, starting at the elbows, both split so she had four hands in total. As Penny came in, the top two sets of hands intertwined their fingers in front of her face, while one of the bottom ones picked up a fruit and she bit into it. Unlike her comrade, her skin was normal vampire pale instead of the pitch, tar-black. She rotated her chair slightly, to look better at the armored knight that she suddenly found in her hall. 

"Well, a surprise," she said. "What an interesting little doll I've found within my halls."

"My name is Penny," Penny introduced, hand to her chest. 

The creature crossed her legs, which, from the knees down, were black, ending in hooves, with holes around the ankles going all the way through. She crossed her lower set of arms over her chest, raising the other pair in the air in a careless gesture. "My name was Cordovin, once, but I suppose you can call me Crown as I am called nowadays. This is Jaws. Now then, little doll, what errand are you on? Normally, I'd have you killed, but I'm curious and rather generous today."

"I seek a little aid with something that your trio tried once, but hopefully, I'll have more luck with." Penny went down on one knee, hoping to win their favor with respect, and said, "If I am to kill the human king, there is a bit I'm going to need from you."

"The king...killing this young successor is not going to be as challenging as killing old Ozpin turned out to be," Cordovin answered slowly. One of her right hands scratched at her chin, the other tapping at the arm of her chair. "You might succeed, but what is it you request from us?"

"I need a dhampir's magic to access the power I need."

"Ah." Cordovin laughed. She rose to her feet, and a clattering noise echoed around the room. About a dozen different charms were tied to her different antlers rattled around as she stepped closer to Penny. She wasn't particularly tall, Penny noted. "No matter how strong or skilled you get, you are still only human. No way to access our magics." Cordovin took Penny's shoulders and brought her to her feet. "I don't care much one way or the other if you succeed, and certainly not enough to give away a dhampir on this. But I will do that if you do something for me."

"What's your price?" Penny asked. 

Cordovin wrapped a pair of arms around Penny's shoulders, leaning against the knight and laughing. Her skin felt...squishy, as if it had no strength. Cordovin's other hands pointed to the empty chair. Near the top of it was a black heart, embedded in the stone, cold and dead. "It once beat with the life of our friend," Cordovin said. "No human could have felled Knucklavee. It was a vampire named Pyrrha Nikos. She lives in the capital, near Salem's castle. After killing Oscar, kill her."

"Consider it done."

"Then take your reward," Cordovin. She reached over and grabbed one of the dhampir servants by the shoulders, pulling them over to Penny. "These two were getting old--thirty six years each. We won't have them much longer anyway, but she should live long enough to suit your purpose."

"You have my thanks."

"And if you kill Pyrrha, you'll have mine," Cordovin said. "Now then. Leave, and let us continue our supper."

House Rose was nothing more than a pile of broken bricks. Blake stared in surprise, jaw dropped as she examined the rubble. A storm had passed through, evidently, which explained all the fallen logs she'd found in the woods. A particularly large tree had collapsed into the old tower, knocking it down. Blake had hoped to pass a day or so in the abandoned tower, but since that wasn't possible, she would have to go into the village and hope for someone to be compassionate enough to spare some coin for a room at an inn. She doubted anyone would thin her a vampire--aside from that being wrong, with the tentacles hidden beneath her shirt, she hardly looked the part. Something crunched beneath her boot--not snow, but glass. Part of a window that had survived. She picked up a shard of glass, seeing her reflection. Black hair, yellow eyes, and the cat ears poking from underneath her head. 

Her eyes widened. She didn't have her bow, and without it, she would draw eyes. And given the superstition and paranoia the border towns held for vampires, she'd probably either be killed on the spot or thrown out. It was sheer luck she happened to step on the glass that drew her attention to this. She ripped off part of her sleeve, putting it around her ears. After a moment's thought, she ripped a part near the base of her shirt, to give herself a poorer look. That done, she went into the village, finding a decent spot near the side of the road to sit. She leaned back against the wall of the first inn she found, hoping its prices weren't too high and people realized what she wanted. Some did, throwing her some coins. One particular person, with a mocking laugh, chucked an apple at her, and was greatly surprised when it struck him back in the face. A laugh came from some of the other passersby, and the mocker decided to leave with his broken fragments of pride. 

Eventually, the routine was interrupted by a stirring around the street corner. She looked at the small pile of coins, sighing. Curiosity getting the better of her, she got up and stepped around the corner. 

Blake found a crowd gathered around a frozen fountain. A sword bounced across the cobblestones in front of her, and a duelist fell backwards, hitting the ground. The victor spun his sword around, putting a sack of coins besides a growing pile of purses. "Well! Who's next? Another bout to get the blood pumping, eh?" the victor cried, pointing his sword at various members of the crowd. "All this money here can be yours, simply give me a good bout!"

 _I do need money at the moment,_ Blake thought. But it would be mean to thrash him so utterly...maybe she could take it slightly easy on him, pretend she was trying. 

"What about you?" The duelist pointed at a pink-and-brown haired girl with an umbrella. She looked around, then pointed at herself. "You look like someone who's seen their share of action," the duelist said. "Want to give it a go?"

"What do you think?" the girl asked her friend--whom, unfortunately, Blake recognized. 

"Crush him, Neo," Nora chuckled. She straightened her greatcoat, shivering in the cold. Blake found that the crowd had moved in around her, making backing out impossible. All that need happen would be for Nora or Ren to look the other direction, and see Blake. While she could probably convince them not to kill her, she couldn't fight them without potentially killing them. If she could beat them at all, that was. She didn't know how much of her power and skill she'd retained, and this seemed like a poor way to test. 

She looked down at the ground, hoping neither looked her way. The fight lasted under a minute, but it felt an agonizing eternity, ending when the crowd gasped. Blake had to force herself to keep looking away, keeping her face away from them. 'Neo' had won, and apparently, didn't want to take all the duelist's winnings of the day. After a minute of arguing, she finally agreed to take half them. The duelist went on his way with his gold, and several members of the crowd cheered his good sportsmanship. A few of the other beaten fencers came over to congratulate Neo, who apparently was not comfortable with all the attention. 

Blake saw an opening in the crowd, and tried shoving through. One person was knocked down, and the other actually shoved back, sending Blake off balance and flying. "Watch it!" several voices cried. 

"Rude," the woman Blake had knocked down muttered. 

"Ren, doesn't she look like...?" No one else could have heard the voice from over there. But everyone heard Ren call out, "Hey! Who are you?"

Blake rose to her feet, brushing snow off herself. Then, she ran, dashing through the snow and running. She shoved past other people, rounding a corner and slowing down to blend in. Now that they knew she was here, there was no chance in trying to stay in the village. She'd have to go and move on to the next one. Unfortunately, there were few towns this close to the border. Most were abandoned. But if she got to one, she'd at least have shelter. 

Something struck her in the face. Blake stumbled, falling backwards into the snow, vision swimming. 

"Got her!" Neo's voice cried. "Damn, she does look like Blake."

"That is Blake," Nora said. "How? How are you back? Some sort of dhampir magic?"

"Actually, yes, but not mine," Blake muttered. She propped herself up on her elbows to see Nora standing above her, hammer ready. "It would really take a while to explain, and you wouldn't believe me anyway, and I have places to be." She rubbed her lip, then slung the blood off into the snow. 

"Not yet, you don't," Nora said. "How do we contact Salem? Just send someone over? And what to do with Blake in the meantime?"

Blake wiggled her fingers, feeling the snow beneath them. "Nora, you holding up good?"

"I'm...I don't feel any sort of influence from her," Nora said. "What happened to her?"

"A lifting of the veil," Blake said. "When Summer comes through, I'm sure she can explain it." She threw up her hands. The blood she'd worked into the snow lifted the white powder into the air, creating a miniature blizzard. She jumped backwards, avoiding the hands that shot out, grabbing for her. She bounced across the ground a few times, putting good distance between her and the others very quickly. They were still rubbing the snow from their eyes, and she shook her head. It hadn't been the first time she'd pulled that trick. 

Nor would it be the last, if things went well. 


	9. Chapter 9

Lighting fires in winter time was something she'd forgotten about it. Blake had taken almost an hour lighting it. Most of the buildings in this abandoned village were wooden, so she had to do it outside as well. Luckily, a wooden shop, though mostly rotten, still had an overhang intact enough to protect the fire from falling snow. The wind threatened to snuff it out, but it held its form for the moment. 

Blake shivered, rubbing her freezing arm. Maybe she could use the bow as a sleeve again...no, it had been torn too much. 

"So cold," she muttered. She hadn't spent time out in the cold in several decades. Since the war. Suffering untold, to her and to so many innocents. She briefly remembered the day she'd met Summer. Her, sitting on a stump with a dozen human warriors lying dead around her. Covered in blood, head pounding from her feast. She'd only just come into her power. It had been...what? Twenty years since the war had ended, and the war itself had lasted about that long. Forty years ago?

She shook her head. It had been so long ago. Yet she still remembered the look Summer had given her. Astonished shock, fear, and pity. She had been wary, but had still picked Blake up and carried her to the vampire camp to be treated for her injuries. She'd barely survived. Summer had immediately gone back out, but came back to check on Blake during her next return. 

They'd become friends. Summer, with the reckless abandon and the knowledge of what needed to be done that Adam had never had. She'd been the mentor that Blake had wanted so badly. But Adam had been the one she needed. Collected, calm. Steady. 

She'd killed him. Just like she'd killed so many others. 

Blake gritted her teeth. It didn't matter whether or not they all just forgave her. She needed to earn it. Earn their forgiveness. 

She looked up, sniffing the air. A human? She looked across the street, seeing a figure standing in the snowy wind. Blake couldn't see clearly, but she saw flashes of green. The figure stood stock still, watching Blake. Blake jumped to her feet, then pulled her sword out. Too many scents flooded the air, and with the wind blowing away from Blake, she couldn't get a good scent of anything. 

Something large shot up in front of Blake. A huge carriage, drawn by a pair of horses with blankets thrown over them. Blake stumbled, falling backwards. Two drivers stood up, one holding the reigns. Both blonde, and she recognized the male. 

The door opened, and a woman in a silver cloak jumped out. "You make fast pace," Summer said. 

"Ah," Blake muttered. "Of course you still caught up to me." She rose to her feet, looking out into the blizzard. The figure was gone. 

"No one's going to be out here in this weather," Summer chuckled. 

"I know what I saw," Blake said. 

"But it isn't really our business," Summer said, "so why can't we get out of this weather, back to Atlas?" She stretched out a hand. Blake took it, letting herself be lead into the carriage. 

The carriage ride was long and awkward, no one daring to say anything. They went backwards, the carriage heading straight for Li Ren's house. Jaune and what Blake guessed was his sister took care of the carriage and horses, while Ruby lead the way to a drawing room with a massive hearth. Blake took a spot in a wooden chair as everyone else got seated around her. Closest to her was Summer on one side, Pyrrha on the other. Ren, Nora, and then Neo behind Pyrrha. and Ruby on the other side of Summer. Directly opposite Blake sat Weiss, with Yang next to her. 

A maid came in, setting a thing of tea heating before leaving the room. "Was there a reason you dragged me back there, or was it just to have tea?" Blake finally asked. 

"She speaks!" Yang burst out, throwing up her hands. 

Blake glared at her, but Summer chuckled. "Well, after...everything, we really wanted to keep an eye on you. Especially as your blood bond with Pyrrha is over, so she can't track you."

"And, thankfully, I have no more influence on the vampires I created," Blake sighed. "But I do have places I want to go, things to do."

"What things?"

Blake smiled, eyes closing. "That's why, then. Well, I don't really plan on starting another revolution," she laughed. To make herself comfy, she straightened her coat and let the two gray tentacles fall out to the ground. She flexed them, then let them coil around her chair legs. "My goal was to make amends."

Everyone else shared a look. All of them but Summer seemed concerned, so to comfort them, Blake pulled out the book. "The people I wronged the most...towards the end...I'm working on something to give to each of them. Most of the twenty, I'm finding a spell that can reverse the process and turn them back to humans. I haven't found it yet, but I'm looking. Weiss." 

Weiss stiffened. "Yes?"

Blake flipped through the book, stopping at the spell she wanted. "This spell is a 'greater restoration' spell. It can heal a lot. It can heal the scar I gave you, that night in the woods."

"The offer is appreciated, but no thanks."

Their was a stunned silence. Blake opened her mouth, trying to speak, but her words failing. "But--but--"

"It's become my normal," Weiss explained. She traced a hand across the scar that stretched across her face. "Going back would be worse than living with this. Besides...it's a reminder of the mistakes I made that night."

"I--but I--I can't--" Blake closed the book, shaking her head. She folded her hands against each other, the tentacles lifting up and waving in the air above her head. "Okay," she said. She looked up as Pyrrha took one of the tendrils, holding it. "These are new," she said. 

"They aren't," Blake said. "That's the carapace that used to be my claws, and that shell I had on my back. It's just in a different spot." There was an awkward moment of silence. "Well, I'm not going to pretend that this is normal or expected because I've never heard of anything like this," Blake added. 

"Probably to do with the amount of human and vampire blood you drank," Pyrrha said, taking her seat again. 

"More likely, what happens when you drink that much and then get resurrected like that," Blake said quietly.

Summer put a hand on Blake's shoulder. "It's nice having you think clearly for the first time in thirty years."

"It's nice thinking clearly for the first time in thirty years," Blake scoffed. "Less nice remembering all the things I did. Which is why I want to make things right with everyone. Are you sure you don't want--"

"Yes," Weiss answered firmly. "Where were you heading next?"

"I was checking for the book I need in one of the abandoned towns," Blake said. "You remember Patch, Summer?"

"Home?" Summer scoffed. "Course I do. But I don't think any of the vampires who lived there left anything when they left."

"There was another place...I ought to show you," Blake said. "Argus."

Pyrrha looked up abruptly. "What's there?"

"Your home, remember?"

"Yes, but why--"

"There are some...things I need to clear up," Blake said, not meeting the other vampire's eyes. "I--I'll show you when we get there, but for now--"

Yang yawned, trying and failing to stifle it. "It's very late," Weiss agreed. "We need to head to bed." 

Blake rubbed her own eyes. "Actually, even I need to go to sleep now," she said. 

"Do we have rooms for everyone?" Ren asked Nora. Nora scratched her head awkwardly. "I have no clue," she muttered. "We have a couple of guest suites, I think..."

"I'm fine on a couch," Blake said, stretching out her arms. 

"Yes, but we kind of...well...how okay will it be for the servants to see her tentacles?" Ren asked. 

"Relatively fine," Neo said. "All things considered, none of the ones who do see it will know what it means. We can just say it's a dhampir thing, cuz no one will know otherwise."

There was a lounge chair in that very same room that Blake laid down on. The pair of tendrils stretched out, one over the back of the chair and the other falling lazily on the floor, occasionally flexing without any conscious decision on her part. She closed her eyes, then opened one of them. Judging by smell, everyone had left but Pyrrha. The redhead leaned down and wrapped her arms around Blake in a hug. "When I dreamed of having you back, I never thought it would come true, and certainly not with you being able to think clearly," she whispered. "This is better than I could have hoped for."

"Better than either of us could have hoped for," Blake whispered. "But remember. I do need three times the amount of sleep you do."

Pyrrha laughed as Blake closed her eyes. "Goodnight."


	10. Chapter 10

Blake stretched her arms, neglecting sitting up just yet. She opened her eyes, seeing sunlight stream in through the wall-sized window on her left. Back in her childhood, stone masonry had only been for the rich. Here, half the buildings were stone, and the rich had even more than they did back then. The fireplace behind the large backed chair roared comfortably, the room heated to a decent temperature. The snowstorm of the night before had died down, and Blake thought again to the armored woman in the abandoned town. Had she gotten a good place to sleep for the night?

Blake finally sat up, seeing the room empty. Evidently, no one had wanted to wake her. 

This wasn't going as expected. None of them had yet tried to apprehend her, and Pyrrha was overjoyed to have Blake thought. She'd never been good at reading Summer's thoughts, but she at least seemed glad. _I just need to not ruin it,_ Blake told herself firmly. _Like I did with Adam, and Flynt. Gods...he's long dead by now, isn't he?_ Flynt had been a friend during the war, even if it was tenuous between him and Blake. He'd been about Blake's age, but he'd been human, too. If he was alive, he was dying. 

Blake rarely felt old. It was not a comfortable feeling.

She strode over to the fireplace, picking up the poker near it and pushing a log. It broke apart, sparks and cinders lifting up into the chimney. She set it down, then turned around to see the small Neopolitan sitting daintily on the back of the chair, umbrella on her shoulder. "When did you--?" Blake looked to the open door, which creaked slightly as it swung on its hinges. 

"Not used to people you can't hear, are ya?" Neo asked, grinning. "Few people are."

"Silent as most vampires."

"Learned from the best."

Blake thought her response over. "How is Li doing?" she asked. 

"Just got out of jail recently," Neo asked. 

"Jail? Did he do something?"

"Well, a couple years back, he apparently set up a bunch of his old war buddies so they'd die to a homicidal maniac," Neo said, twirling her umbrella. 

"I didn't think anybody would find out about that," Blake muttered. 

"He confessed as soon as he found out you were stopped," Neo said. "He's a man of principles, he is. He would have been executed, but combined with the knowledge of your threats, a bit of confusion as to how vampire powers work, and a few threats from Nora to a few people, he got off with a year of time in prison. Not fun."

"I can verify that for you," Blake replied grimly. She had spent a couple of nights in prison cells. One even before the war, when she'd beaten up one of the kids in her home village. Her parents had been furious when they came to pick her up, a day later when they found out what had happened. She'd gotten all the lectures from the two of them that day, but seeing as she'd spent her entire night in a jail cell, they decided that she'd been punished enough and had learned her lesson.

"I don't need you to verify it," Neo muttered. Judging from how quietly she'd spoken and the fact that she was looking the other way, Blake felt like she hadn't been meant to hear that, so she didn't reply. "Where is everyone?"

"Having breakfast. Jaune's prepping the horses for the ride back to the capital, and Nora asked him if he'd like to be human again, cuz of what you said last night. He's actually just fine like he is, and he'd rather not touch any more magic than he has to."

"Out of twenty people, one of them is going--to the capital?" Blake snapped around, stepping towards Neo. "Which one?"

"Salem's? The vam--where are you going?"

Blake felt a little bit betrayed. She'd said her plans clearly, and said that she'd been heading closer to the human territories to get the stuff needed to heal the twenty people she'd hurt. She'd even said that she had something to show them in Argus! She stomped out the door, tendrils lashing back as she crunched into the snow. It was still early, because no one was out. Blake hadn't gotten far before a voice cried, "Wait!"

Blake turned to see Pyrrha running out, top speed. Pyrrha stopped in front of Blake, who turned back to face the redhead. "Where are you going?" Pyrrha asked. 

"To Patch, like I said I was going to," Blake said viciously. "Not to the capital, like you lot apparently planned on me going."

"Wha--Summer thought that's where you wanted to go!" 

"This is my fault," Summer said from the doorway, running pretty quickly through the snow. The snow didn't crunch beneath her feet, but she left footprints well enough. "I assumed you'd want to head back. I'm sorry, Blake."

Blake forced herself to calm down, taking some deep calming breaths. "I guess I jumped to a conclusion or two," she said. She shivered, tightening her coat around her. 

"Come on," Pyrrha said, taking her hand. "Let's get you some new clothing, something good for winter and a cloak to help with those tentacles..."

Blake smiled lightly, then stopped to reach out and pat Summer on the shoulder. "I overreacted there. Sorry."

"Hey, it's fine. Everything's fine now."

"Robyn, right?"

The dhampir had never left her home, and had never been spoken to except when being given orders. At first she didn't even know how to respond. "Th-that's my name," she stammered. The warrior wore emerald green armor, with two leather coattails coming down from her waist. She'd taken off her helmet, her short orange hair bouncing lightly in the breeze. She had two specially made swords sheathed across her back, two more sheathed in a belt around her waist, and a long hunting knife in each boot. She looked back to Robyn and smiled. "Don't be shy. I'm Penny."

Robyn gave a nod to show she understood. Penny's smile wavered slightly as she climbed the steps into the village. Argus was a small city in size, but hadn't been inhabited in many years. She'd heard Cordovin mention it a few times. 

"I need you for just this little bit, but then you can leave if you want to," Penny said. "And you can answer me freely. I'm not your mistress."

"W-where would I go? What would I do besides listen to you?" Robyn shrugged. "I have nothing."

"You have plenty," Penny said firmly. "A dhampir can do a lot of things."

"But there's nothing I want to do," Robyn said. 

Penny sighed. "I'll have to work on that later," she muttered. She slashed out suddenly, a large, wolf-like creature falling to the ground past her, dead. Its corpse dissipated into a thick smog. "You don't often see Grimm up over here," she said. "In some of these abandoned towns, you see lots of them. They hang around where Salem left them." She spat the name like it stung her mouth. 

"Do you not like her?"

"No, but there's another who's mortal," Penny replied. "The son of the king who started the war, as poisonous to this land as his father. I seek to kill him."

"Are not kings well guarded?"

"I seek a magic to help me," Penny said. "I've seen it in action." She stepped over a fallen tree, then lifted Robyn around the waist and put her down on the other side of it. "I just need you to help me access it."

She pointed to a large, castle-like building, built into a mountain at the edge of the sea. "Argus shipped ores to a country across the sea. Got big and wealthy doing so, and none moreso than the family who lived in this house. They died, I'm not sure how. She was...unspecific about the details."

"Who was?"

_"Her."_

Penny pointed up ahead, to the group of people in front of the door. Three people. One man, impossibly large in a green overcoat, with scrapes and tears around his arms and legs. Dark hair. "Hazel," Penny introduced. She pointed to a woman in a brown fur coat, with two metal blades tied around her wrist. "That is Vernal."

The final woman was clearly the 'her' Penny had referred to. A mess of uncombed black hair hung down to her waist, with a single sword sheathed in a belt at her waist. She wore high boots and short trousers, covering only half her thighs, and a red dress. Robyn's attention was drawn to her face, which was covered by a mask made out of pale white vampire skin. 

"Let's get moving," the third woman said, folding her arms over her chest, "before I regret not wearing pants."

Penny laughed. "Robyn, this is Raven. She is how I know the power of the magic you can get me, for she has it herself. Now that everyone is introduced, let's head inside."


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a long time, Weiss thought, since all of them had gotten together. They caught up with each other. Nothing had happened with the Darkened Sigil, or nothing they'd noticed, in any case. 

"Where'd Blake go?" Yang asked eventually. 

"Right here."

All of them turned as Blake stepped into the room. She had thrown away the ragged, torn black cloak. Now she wore one of violet fur that came down to her boots with two gray coattails underneath it, just as long as it was. It was clasped around her stomach with a wire, and the fur around the neck was white. She wore a black shirt underneath it, coming almost down to her trousers. She grinned, stretching out her arms over to the sides. Both her cat ears sat atop her head, uncovered. "How do I look?"

"Perfect!" Summer cried, clapping her hands together. "The purple really suits you."

"The dye is expensive though," Blake said. "You really don't mind me keeping this, Miss Valkyrie?"

Nora shrugged it off. "None of us wear it, and it would look horrible on Li anyway."

"I asked him about it, he said it was fine," Ren added. 

"Those aren't coattails, are they?" Pyrrha asked, looking down at the gray. The 'coattail' twitched, flexing. 

"I got creative," Blake said slyly. "We ready to get moving?"

"I think so," Summer said. "Nora and her friends won't actually fit in our carriage, and they were just going to--"

"Meet you in Patch," Nora said. "We'll find a carriage, and we should arrive at the same time as you do, since you'll be going on your detour to Argus."

"Argus is not on the path to Patch?" Yang asked Weiss quietly. 

"Argus is a seaside town that has long been abandoned," Blake said. "Patch is in a forested area much farther east."

"So the sea is west?"

Blake rubbed her eyes with her black gloves. "We're taking the shortest road, directly northwest, and then we can take almost a straight line east-north-east."

Yang opened her mouth to say something, but Weiss interrupted for the blonde's sake. "What matters is that the people driving know exactly where to go."

The next problem was seating arrangements. Jaune and Saffron sat in the driver's seat. Blake sat in the middle in the rear end of the carriage, with Summer on one side and Pyrrha on the other. Directly across from her was Yang, with Weiss across from Pyrrha and Ruby across from Summer. 

"What _is_ in Argus now?" Yang asked. 

"Argus is where I got the Relic," Blake answered. 

"That tentacled thing?" Ruby said, disgusted. She shuddered. "That thing gave me the creeps."

Blake rolled her eyes. "There are four vampire Relics, and four human Relics. I went to Argus a decade ago to get one so I could match Salem. And I knew that these had the power of Salem because that's where Salem's magic comes from. She has one of the vampire Relics."

"But I think we would have noticed that in two years," Ruby pointed out. 

"The Relic is _inside_ her," Blake replied, tapping her stomach. "Yang. You're a dhampir, so I trust you have a basic understanding of physiology. If you really think about it, what did those tentacles look like?"

"Blood vessels."

Blake nodded, smiling for a reason none of them could figure out. "It works itself in and through a vampire. It couldn't do that with me because I'm a dhampir. Too vampire to integrate with the human Relic, and too human for the vampire ones."

"Does that mean Salem now has two of them?" Pyrrha asked.

"Built for sharing--you only get one," Blake chuckled, wagging a finger at her. "I'm not sure what she intends to do with the other, if anything."

"What made the Relics, though?" Weiss asked. "What are they?"

"Do I look like I'm that old?" Blake snorted. "The Relics were made about a millennium before my time. I have not the foggiest clue what they are, who made them, or why. All we have is a bunch of miscellaneous pagan myths and some nonsense about a lamp. Even the oldest stories disagree on what they are."

"What...they were in Argus?"

"Guarded by your parents." 

The carriage rolled to a stop, and Blake slid past Pyrrha and jumped out. "Stay here. Grimm sometimes roam pretty far, but I doubt you'll see any outside the city." Blake went off into the town. 

"You worried?" Weiss asked. 

"I've never seen Blake like this," Pyrrha said. "She's been emotional, plenty. Regretful, at times. But this...sadness. Misery."

Blake had stopped ahead, waiting for the rest of them to catch up. She didn't look particularly miserable. 

Guessing what she was thinking, Pyrrha added, "I know her pretty well. She's good at masking herself."

"I was never good at figuring out what was going on in her head," Summer admitted. "She does seem pretty down, though."

"We'll never learn anything standing out here in the cold," Yang said. "Come on. I'm sure Blake is just as impatient as I am right now."

They followed the dark-haired dhampir through the town, up to the mountain and the manor build into the side of it. Lots of brick buildings lined the streets, though most had at least partially collapsed. Blake stopped on the steps up to the manor's double doors, rotted but standing tall. 

"You never asked about your parents, though I know you don't remember them," Blake said quietly. "I don't know what I would have told you if you did."

"Who were they?" Pyrrha asked, stepping up just behind Blake. 

"The guardians of the Relics. Them and their trained warriors." Blake pushed on one of the doors, and it surprisingly held together as it swung open. "Without a Relic, I didn't have the strength to take them on, especially as I knew they had at least one dhampir with them. I had to get help, but...with that psycho on my side, we did it.

"It was a slaughter."

The words hung in the air as Blake stepped into the great hall. Discarded weapons lined the ground, broken ones, all rusted. Scraps of armor and cloth, and bones. Most had been gnawed on, and an egregiously fat rat scurried away from a mostly intact skeleton. "Afterwards, we found you, Pyrrha, crying. She almost struck you down--I--I was never one to be wasteful. I want to say that it was because I didn't want to kill a child, but we all know how false that is. Back then, I would have had no problems killing you. But I thought I could use you. And I hoped that you would never remember your parents, or the Relics, or any of the madness of that day." 

She fell to her knees. "I know you won't forgive me, but I had to tell you. We didn't even need to come here, I suppose. I guess I just wanted to show you."

"You're wrong."

Blake looked over her shoulder as Pyrrha fell beside her, wrapping her in a hug. "I already forgave you," Pyrrha whispered. 

Blake's eyes widened. "Just...like that?"

"Who says it has to be difficult?" 

Blake's eyes teared up, and she wept. She threw her arms around Pyrrha, crying. Yang's heart panged at the emotions of the scene, but she didn't have long to dwell on it, because she made a connection in her head. 

Blake hadn't done it by herself, and it had been the day she'd gotten the Relic. One person had claimed to have been with Blake that day. She had said she helped Blake, in return for taking one of the Relics for herself. A human woman with magical powers. Unfortunately, Blake recognized the woman standing at the end of the hall. 

"Mom?"


	12. Chapter 12

Raven hurriedly spun around, fixing the mask over her face. She turned back to face the group. Blake wiped her eyes, then jumped to her feet, blade drawn. " _You._ " Then she turned to Yang. "'Mom'? That psychopath is your mother?"

"She has her issues, but so do you," Yang pointed out. 

"I saw her skewer a vampire through the heart, then use a hunting knife to carve the skin off his face, and she put it on her own as a mask while he screamed and bled to death," Blake whispered. 

"You're not looking so pretty yourself," Raven pointed out, stepping slightly further into the hall. Her eyes rapidly flicked between the six of them. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Summer. Vernal stood behind Raven, hand on her shortsword. 

Blake lifted her lip in a snarl, but Yang hurriedly stepped in between the two of them. "Okay, okay. Everyone calm down. No reason to--"

"Who is it that you are giving a Relic too, and what did they promise you?" Blake asked. "I smell them, down there. Two humans and a dhampir, and a lot of blood."

Yang sniffed the air a few times, confirming the scents for herself. _Why can't any dhampir magics not involve large amounts of bloodshed?_ she thought grimly. " _Blake,_ " she said forcefully. She glared down the other dhampir, then turned to her mother. "Mom? I know for a fact that sentimentality isn't why you came her, and I have a feeling you know what's going on downstairs."

"I'm not one of Salem's subjects," Raven snorted. "And taking the Relics isn't against any laws, or even morally wrong."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Attack me here, and you're the aggressor," Raven said. "That being said, I don't feel the need to--" 

Blake shoved past Yang, pointing her sword directly at Raven. "Listen here--"

A flash of blue lightning shot from Raven's hand. Blake was thrown backwards, through the group, and slammed into an aged pillar. Lightning crackled along Raven's arm, and she lowed it. "Don't threaten me," she said. "I don't plan on doing anything even close to what you were doing, Blake. Just a little job, giving a gift to a trusted friend." A scream echoed through the building. A scream of intense pain and agony, ripping through the air with force. There was a silence after that. 

Yang helped Blake to her feet, doing a quick check to make sure she didn't get hurt. She seemed more pissed than anything else. She was about to say something when Yang clapped a hand to her mouth. "Okay. Let's take a moment, calm down, and think about this. Kay? No more magic lightning bolts hurled at each other."

"I didn't draw my weapon first," Raven pointed out. "You surely see how ridiculous she's--" Raven cut off, seeing Yang's red eyes flash towards her. "I know what you're liar voice sounds like, Mother," she said. "What the fuck are you trying to do?"

"Don't talk to her like--" Vernal started, but Raven lifted up her hand, cutting her off. 

"You have to understand--I do everything to benefit the tribe," Raven stated. "It's not because of an old vendetta, or hatred, or a lust for more power. Do you know where the tribe came from?"

"No."

"Most of them are deserters from the war, or their children," Raven said. "Either shunned from society, or forbidden from reentering it. I myself was done with that war. Didn't want any part of it. Qrow…he never understood that. But I found all these people out in the woods, trying to get food and shelter for them all, and I did my very best to help them. What little tools I had left went into getting up our tents, and we made our first camp."

Raven walked across the room, towards a torch bracket. Yang hadn't noticed how the room was lit up, but each of the brackets contained glowing crystals. The ones nearest Raven suddenly switched to a deep green. "I took up the powers of the Relic to better supply them. But if we can pull this off, they'll be able to head home. To their families. Or maybe just back into society. Who cares? I have a goal. We need to kill the Tyrant King."

"What did he do?" Weiss asked. "He's barely been a king for two years!"

"He didn't do anything," Raven said. "What was it you told me that day, Blake?"

"The price of sin is most often paid by the innocent," Blake whispered. 

"Ozpin's sin must be paid by Oscar," Raven said. "If this will make it better for so many other people, then I am willing."

"And you'll ascend your throne?" Yang asked. 

"I don't care to rule," Raven said. "My friend downstairs was going to take the crown. She'll take her throne, and I'll retire to a small house in the woods wherever I can."

"You can't just kill him!" Yang burst out. "It would be one thing if you were just moving him away somewhere else, where he could live in peace. The guy's a kid! You can't just execute him because it'll be better for everyone else! What if someone did it to you?"

"It's a strong man's world," Raven answered. "The strong survive--the only law held consistently in my life."

"Mom. Don't do this."

"Yet you know I will."

There was a tense moment, nothing was said. "We won't let you," Yang said. She ground her fists together. "Do you really think this will help?" 

Raven's shoulders sagged, resolve waning. 

"Trust me. Vengeance doesn't help," Blake put in. "When I said that a long time ago, Raven, I meant it as a bad thing. The sinner throws their price onto the innocent. If you kill him, Ozpin won't have been the sinner."

"Maybe." Raven stepped back, sitting down on a near chair. "I suppose you're right. I'll talk to Penny. It might do good if you leave here by the time she's done with the Relic--wait, Pyrrha Nikos? Yes, you'll definitely want to go then. What...what were you even doing here?"

"Recollecting old sins," Blake said with a shrug. "Did not expect this meeting here. Don't care for it much, either, and I hate to say it, but it was certainly not a pleasure."

Raven chuckled, stretching out her hands to the sides. "Mightn't I suggest, then, you go on your way? However you brought yourself back to--oh, wait. Hah. Would you call your experiment a success, Yang?" 

Yang stiffened. 

"Hey," Summer said, defensively putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Who are you to judge?"

"Who said I was judging?" Raven laughed. She frowned. "Whoever you are." She waved them off, looking back to the doorway. No screams echoed down from below, but Yang still smelled an egregious amount of blood. "I can deal with this, and you, Yang, know I'm not lying."

"Let's go," Yang said, turning to leave. 

"That's it?" Blake asked as everyone started leaving. "We're--we're just walking away?"

"What do you want to do?" Pyrrha asked, taking Blake's hand and leading her out. 

They went out the door, and Raven shook her head. "Maybe it would have been better for the tribe if I never met Yang," the bandit leader said slowly, "but I've never regretted meeting her."

"What now?" Vernal asked. 

The sound of footsteps came from the open doorway behind Raven. "Do I have to say it again?" she asked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooookay. So I'm still alive, if any of you were wondering. Just lazy and out of habits :P And with the release of Library of Ruina, I wanted to know the end of Lobotomy Corporation so I could play Library of Ruina so I've been watching a playthrough because as fun as Lobotomy Corporation was, it's not the most replayable game in the world. Mostly, I had no idea how to progress from this scene so now that I've finally figured out how, I should get back into the habit of writing.


	13. Chapter 13

"Did we make good time, or are they making bad time?" Ren asked. "I mean...should they have been here by now, or are we early?"

"It might be both," Neo suggested. "But I can imagine what Blake was thinking about showing them. Probably, though, mostly showing just Pyrrha."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked. 

"Argus Limited," Neo said, pointing at Nora. 

Nora rolled her eyes. "House Nikos, House Calavera."

Ren blinked. "Noble families?"

"Roman had us memorize a lot of them so we could get potential ransoms and assassinations," Nora explained. "Argus is Pyrrha's home, though I don't know how many people know the place is abandoned. Probably a lot of people closer to the capital, though out on the border, I don't think many."

Ren looked around at the village around them. Square, stone buildings, most covered in moss and a few had been knocked down with trees growing through their walls. Ren looked back to the two of them. "But her parents?"

"Almost certainly dead at this point," Nora admitted. "Must be a difficult thing for Blake to talk about." She peeked around a corner and gasped. She jumped around, running with a cry. Ren and Neo both cried, "Nora!". 

"Reeeen!"

The two ran around the corner, grating to a stop. Hanging from a tree vine was a large animal with dark fur and large claws. 

"It's a sloth!" Nora laughed with childish glee. She bounced up and down a few times, clapping her hands together with a grin. 

"Roman mentions sloths _one_ time," Neo chuckled. 

Ren stepped over, sheathing his weapon. "Really?"

"Hey. Lemmee have this." Nora put one hand on her hip, and with the other she idly scratched at the scar on her throat. 

"Do you think...Blake can fix you?" 

"Ouch. What exactly are you calling broken?" Nora glared at him. Ren stepped back, holding up his hands complacently. 

"Yang interrupted your turning into a vampire. You're...I've seen you scratching at your throat, and your hands," Ren pointed out. 

"It...my body...feels wrong." Nora's face fell. She looked down at the ground. "Imagine being a stranger in your own skin. The walls around you were not built by you. Your skin, a foreign country, alien landscape." She folded her arms over her chest. "It's horrible."

"If she could fix Weiss's scar, couldn't she fix yours?"

"It's not as simple as that," Nora said. "I asked Yang about it, remember? She said--dammit, I didn't understand half of it and I don't remember the rest. It's a different kind of scar, she said."

Ren wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Isn't that why we're finding the magic book?"

"I guess so. Do you think Blake can do it?"

Neo shrugged. "Who can say? I'm sure she can at least find a solution."

Nora rubbed her throat. "Maybe...maybe I can..."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," whined the sloth. The three stared in silence as the sloth met their gazes without making any further sound. It pulled a leaf off the tree, eating it slowly. 

It started with Nora chuckling, then Neo laughed, and finally all were doubled over, laughing their heads off. 

"I guess they do make a lot of noise," Ren laughed. 

"No one--no one will ever guess that is a secret signal," Nora laughed, falling onto her back. 

"Not this again," Neo grinned, shaking her head. She looked up as the sound of horses echoed on the cobblestones. "Huh. I guess they're here."


	14. Chapter 14

"Miss--Penny?"

No answer.

"Penny?"

The lithe figure of the young woman ahead didn't change. She didn't answer. 

"Penny," Hazel's voice growled. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know," Penny said finally. Her hair bow whipped around in the wind, her hands folded over her chest. "Most of the plan rested on Raven."

"Perhaps a mistake," Hazel said. 

"It was necessary. She had the force and the manpower that we needed," Penny explained. She stopped abruptly, her damaged half a cloak whipping into Robyn's face. Robyn hesitantly put a hand on Penny's shoulder. Penny turned around, looking at the dhampir. Robyn flinched, but managed to steadily ask, "Can't...can't we make another plan?"

The simple, almost stupid question hung in the air. Penny nodded. "We're going to have to." 

Blake opened her eyes, her memory of getting into the carriage and going to sleep hazy. She lay, sprawled out longwise, across one of the seats as the carriage bumped down the road. Her head was in Pyrrha's lap. Weiss, Yang, and Ruby sat across from her. Summer was up in the driver's seat with Jaune and Saffron. 

"How long did I sleep?" she asked. 

"Longer than I did," Yang replied. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah." She sat up, stretching her arms and somehow managing to retain her balance while the carriage moved. "Where are we?"

"Patchwork Forest," Summer called down. "You remember these woods?"

Blake looked out the window, seeing a young dhampir slit a man's throat and drain him dry to get the power needed to survive this far from home. "Yeah. I remember them."

"There's home!" Summer cried. The carriage pulled to a stop just past a crumbled stone wall covered in tree roots. Blake opened the door and hopped out on the right with Pyrrha, while the others hopped out on the left. Or...she looked around, seeing Ruby hop out behind Pyrrha. "What?" the silver-eyed brunette asked. 

"Nothing." Blake turned away, memories of worse times moving in front of her eyes. 

Herself sitting on a stone, glaring in one direction while Summer stood behind her. 

Summer laughed, rolling back her shoulders, breathing deeply. "I love this place," she whispered. 

"You and I remember this place very differently," Blake told her. She laid a hand on one of the damaged walls, letting her breath fog up the cold air. Pyrrha started to say something, but Ruby spoke up first. 

"A bit of a secondary home, eh?"

Blake considered it. "I never thought of Patch as home," she said simply. "I never wanted to leave my parents. But I did, with shouts and anger and insults, leaving to help fight in the war. I'd barely gotten across the border when I got in over my head."

"I...while I don't know everything you went through, I know a _little_ of what it's like."

Blake looked at her curiously. 

"Cinder's castle...doesn't feel like House Rose did. It's too big, too spacious. It has a lot more people, yeah, but--it's not home. I want my old room back."

"Fruits of the past are pretty tempting, aren't they?" Blake chuckled. "And not just to us." She traced along the slash mark on where the door handle should have been. 

"Someone else was here," Summer said. "And that doesn't look like a sword mark, either."

"We haven't been in that building," came Nora's voice. She, along with Ren and Neo, came over from around a bend, the former holding up a leafy branch. She tossed it to the side as she eyed the group. Blake opened the door, shoving it open and stepping inside. 

"Damn, this place brings back memories," Summer said, following Blake inside. 

Blake came in, stopping in front of a wooden hatch near the back. She kicked a rusted pipe out of the way before kneeling down, picking up a broken lock and chain. She opened the storage unit, tossing away various weapons and an assortment of odd crystals. She stopped when she got to the bottom. 

"It was a vampire," Blake said. 

"Who was?" Ruby asked. 

"The intruder. They had to have known where it was, too. They even left everything else alone, so they had to have known what it was, and it had to have been why they were here."

"Could Mom have grabbed the book?" Yang asked. "If she was looking into old magics--"

"The books were written by various Salems over the years," Blake answered. "The magic is old, yes. But so are the Relics. So is what you probably think of as 'standard' magic. So are vampires and dhampirs and the other magical creatures of this world." She shook her head, closing the hatch. It crumbled away to rot and dust. "But no. Raven would not have known about anything here. I was careful with what I told her. But I do have an idea who it was--if she's still alive, and managed to find a way to heal her eyes."

She rose, holding up the latch for Summer to see. "It almost looks like a scythe swing," she said, examining the damage. 

Blake nodded bitterly. "There are many people whom I unjustly injured during the war. Innocents who suffered needlessly. Of those I hurt, I do not count the Grim Reaper one of them."


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you meaning to tell me," Ozpin asked, getting up off his throne, "that dhampirs can just...turn any human into a vampire, irreversibly, and bend their will to their own?"

"More or less. Slightly more complicated, Your Majesty, but it hardly matters."

"And vampire powers?"

"Not like dhampir ones, but just as strong if not moreso."

Ozpin tapped his cane against the ground, idly, in thought. "And Salem. She is not immortal."

"As mortal as all of us, Your Majesty."

Ozpin nodded. "Then she can be beaten."

"With your army size? Almost certainly."

"And when we do, people will praise the name Maria Calavera for years to come," Ozpin promised, tossing a gold coin her way. 

The Reaper grinned, catching it out of the air. "As they say, heroes get remembered, but a legend never dies."

**\--Modern Day--**

Nora had brought a bigger carriage for them all to ride in. Jaune and Saffron drove it, while their carriage and horses were brought back to the capital by Nora's driver. "So," Blake said, hands clasped in front of her. "The whore lives."

"Blake," Summer hissed. 

"I'll call her whatever I want to, Summer," Blake snorted. "She's worse than I ever was. At least I can say my mind wasn't in the rights. She--she never drank human blood. That's how I beat her."

"You left her alive?" Pyrrha asked, surprised. 

"Well, she was bleeding and out in the middle of nowhere," Blake muttered. "I'd cut her eyes out, too, so no, I did not intend to leave her alive. She must have been found by human soldiers."

"Who is she?" Ruby asked. "I mean, I've heard you mention 'Calavera' before, Mom, but I was never curious enough to ask about it."

"The war started when the human king, Ozpin, found out about dhampir powers. He used that as a basis for his war, which was mostly about profit and land," Sumer explained. "Maria Calavera is the vampire who told him. Before then, no one knew anything about vampire powers. They were spread out everywhere across the border. You still see some living way close to the capital, but few, if any, live inside the capital anymore. Most that did were killed--including Calavera's own family."

"If it was her that took the book, as I'm almost certain it is," Blake said, "then she's found some way to regain her sight."

"She must have had her reasons," Yang said measuredly. 

"Coin is as good a reason as any," Blake scoffed. 

"Perhaps she did. If she did, she never said anything," Summer said. "All that is known for sure is that she was promised a large amount of gold and land, and to have her name immortalized."

"She lives in Beacon still," Blake said with a dark look. 

"Where's Beacon?" Yang asked. 

"The human capital," Weiss said simply. 

"Oh, fuck," Yang muttered. 

"Don't worry. This new king is not nearly as violent minded as his father," Summer laughed. "He wouldn't harm a group of people straight from Salem's castle."

"Even if two of them are dhampirs themselves?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Not if he wanted to keep his crown," Summer said firmly. 

"What about the Butcher of Menagerie?" Blake asked coolly. 

Summer hesitated. "Okay, that might be an issue," she admitted. "We can work around it? Maybe?"

Blake laughed cruelly. "Oh, sure. I'm positive he'll be _thrilled_ to see me."

"He doesn't have to know who you are."

"They will."

"How so?"

Blake shrugged. "Things never go that smoothly. I'm sure that right now, things are lining up to be worse by the time we get anywhere close to Beacon."

While the statues of Calavera had been torn down and few regarded her as anything close to a hero, Oscar had not done anything to harm her. She even still retained the land granted her by Ozpin, despite its very close proximity to the palace. After having seen the vampire palace, human architecture looked almost mundane in comparison. 

Penny looked up to the front door, seeing the metal house crest placed on the wooden door. Dual scythe blades, crossed over the image of a skull missing the jawbone. 

"Do you think she'll help us?" Hazel asked. "Wouldn't the smarter option be to just turn us into Oscar once we tell her our plan?"

"She's what, sixty? Seventy? No matter how young she looks, she's not gonna be a match for me. Probably not even you." She hesitated before knocking. "That came out wrong, I didn't mean to imply that you were--"

"Just knock if we're going to," Hazel interrupted. 

Penny knocked, hard and firm. A servant opened the door. Penny was unsurprised to see that it was a human one--no vampire she knew would have worked for the Grim Reaper.

"We're here to see Miss Calavera," Penny said. "We have an opportunity for her."

The servant rolled his eyes, as if he'd heard it before. "Well, what sort of opportunity?" he asked, as if he already knew the answer. 

"To carve her name onto the stone of history."

The servant hesitated, frowning. Penny smiled, glad she gave him a reply he hadn't heard already. He closed the door, making no promise to return as he went inside. Penny shivered in the cold. 

"Wouldn't it have been smarter to wait until spring or summer?" Robyn asked. 

Penny was glad to hear her speaking more confidently. It seemed like she had taken a while for the Gluttons to break. "Spring or summer would have been preferable, but it had to do with when I met Raven. Once in a lifetime opportunity, so I just sucked it up and traveled through the cold weather. And once I'd already done most of the traveling, and had a destination in mind rather than wander around aimlessly..." Footsteps sounded. The servant returned and opened the door, nodding while seeming confused. "This way," he said. 

"...it seemed rather pointless not to walk that extra mile or two when I was already here," Penny said with a smile, right behind the servant. 

"Where...where do you live?" Robyn asked. "Closer to the border?"

"I was born here, but I've been living a bit farther east," Penny answered. "Argus is a ways south-west of here, and I met you south of there. We go much further north and we'll be treading ocean water in our boots."

The servant opened a door into a round room with a hearth. A small table was seated in front of it, with a plate of small pastries and a wine bottle. A window had its curtains drawn, and the room was almost completely bare besides this. Seated at the table was a woman who almost looked young, but her hair, beginning to gray, betrayed hints of her true age. She wore a violet dress, and had an odd cane whose top matched the skull on Maria's door. The blade had folded down along the handle, so the small scythe could be comfortably carried about as an elaborate walking cane. Maria looked up from her book, and Penny was surprised to see her eyes covered by a mechanical contraption. It looked like a pair of goggles, with red glass over her face. The book was an old one, pitch black without words on the cover. 

"You have my curiosity and attention," Maria said, looking back to her book. Penny couldn't see her face beneath the glass, and doubted Maria could read the words. "What is it you're trying to do, and what do you need me to do?"

Penny waited a second, to be sure the servant had departed, and said, "I want to dethrone Oscar."

Maria stopped. "Eh?" She cocked her head, smiling slightly. "You--you do realize that, at the moment, I am listed as one of his knights."

"Yes, but not for the coin," Penny said, hoping she was right. "You want to make yourself a name in history. The wealth, the land, the power--that's secondary to the fame. Heroes get remembered..."

"And legends never die," Maria answered quietly, closing the book but keeping her place with one hand. "What's your name?"

"Penny. Penny Polendina."

Maria smiled. "That explains it," she said. "He quoted me to you, eh? Well, sorry to say that's not what my current goal is."

Penny felt her heart lurch. 

"The Butcher sliced out my eyes," Maria said, tapping the goggles she wore. "Thanks to this modern marvel, I can see, but it's by no means perfect. This book has a spell that can heal my eyes...but I can't read with this thing. And my servant is good and talented, but he doesn't know Runic. So...do you...?" 

Penny nodded, then reached out a hand. Maria handed the book to her, and Penny flipped through it. "A little rusty, but Dad's lessons have a habit of sticking whether or not I want them to. Oh, god, the handwriting is _awful..._ for fuck's sake..."

Maria patiently waited as Penny mumbled to herself. "Okay, the page you were on was for wart removal. Which is good and all, really useful magic..."

"I don't have a wart, and neither do I have my eyes," Maria said, sounding more patient than she looked. 

"Let's see...hmm...here we go. Greater restoration. Hmm. Doesn't seem too hard."

"Doesn't it need two people, though?" Maria asked. "One dhampir won't cut it."

Penny held up a hand, then tapped on Maria's shoulder. Maria slowly reached up and dusted the snow off it. Penny nodded, not looking up from the book. "Easy enough to do," Penny says. "Between me and Robyn, we have enough power to do it, easy. Can you keep the goggles on if you still have your eyes?"

"Them or something enough like them," Maria answered. "No one will notice. No one's around me enough to tell the difference."

"So. Is it a deal?"


	16. Chapter 16

They'd hit a populated town by the day's end, and had managed to find an inn with enough room for them. Despite how tired she was, she couldn't sleep. Even the vampires slept, but she found herself putting on her violet cloak and climbing out of bed. She climbed out the window and onto a tree growing besides the inn, staring out at the snowy landscape. 

"Hello, Miss Valkyrie," she said. 

Branches creaked behind her as Nora came up and sat besides her. "How'd you know it was me?"

"I have a good nose compared to other dhampirs and vampires," Blake answered. "I don't think you came out her to chit chat with me of all people, so what's up?" She looked past Nora, through the window and towards her sleeping friends--Summer was sleeping on a bed with Ruby besides her, but she couldn't see anyone else through the small window. 

Nora started scratching at her neck. "I was kind of wondering--you mentioned that you were looking for a spell that could make the other twenty human again. Is--is--"

"Do you want me to turn you to a human again?" Blake asked, smiling. 

Nora shook her head. "No, it's--well--can you fix me?"

"I don't follow."

"I--remember how Yang interrupted my turning into a vampire?"

"I think I see," Blake said, turning to Nora. "You don't feel right. Proper."

"Like I'm in someone else's skin."

"In a sense, that's true," Blake said, looking up to the sky. "Right now, you're as much a vampire as I am. Almost, but not quite. If you want to do things the easy way, I could change you either direction by tomorrow."

Nora frowned. "The easy way?"

"Simple matter of finishing the...rather messy transformation," Blake answered hesitantly. "As long as you had a spot that was secluded enough so we wouldn't be interrupted, and you didn't mind getting a rather large amount of your blood on, it would be easy for me or Yang to finish it. It wouldn't even end up with the control that dhampirs normally get over their...victims."

"Explain?"

"It has to do with one of the key factors of the transformation," Blake said. "The changing of the mind. I already did that with you. Your body thinks it is a vampire now, but it is not quite there. It was there, but Yang...put it back a step or two. I'm trying to find the words you'd understand, but it's difficult. Let me think a second." 

She scratched her chin, thinking while Nora looked down at the ground. "It's not like there's a book somewhere that explains the entirety of the process, for the record. Most of what I say right now, I had to learn the hard way. Trial and error. This ended in more than a few bodies. But the very first step is digging through the human's mind and making them think, 'I am a vampire'. It's easier than you'd assume, but without the rest, it would soon return to normal. The 'rest' involves draining a large amount of the human's blood, and twisting a few of their insides."

Nora clutched her stomach. Blake nodded. "Trial and error, that part. And it was also the part Yang interrupted and set back. She repaired your flesh, but to a human ideal of a body. You're bound by mostly human needs, and a fleshy human one, too."

"But you're flesh and blood, just like I am."

"Have you ever put a knife in a vampire?" Blake asked suddenly. Nora shook her head. "It's a distinctly unpleasant feeling. Vampires are almost entirely magic. Take their organs out, and they decompose within an hour. And if you look at it, they're missing a couple of rather necessary organs."

"But--isn't Yang a doctor of sorts--"

"She understands anatomy good enough to set things to rights," Blake explained, chuckling. "But any book on vampire anatomy would point out the differences between human and vampire anatomy. The fact that a vampire's rib cage is missing a bone on the right...that vampires don't have vocal chords..."

Nora shuddered. "Physically, no vampire should be able to walk," Blake continued. "They're basically held together by pure magic. Which is why they drink blood, if you didn't know. Blood is the most magical, soul-invested part of any body. It is capable of holding vampires together. Human blood is more potent, and can keep vampires alive for a while."

"More potent...and soul-invested. That means more soul."

"Very good," Blake said, a flicker of pride shining through her yellow eyes. "That's why it corrupts. Two souls in the same body will never agree. A fragment of a soul will never know what happened to itself. It'll look around, confused, trying to figure out what happened, who hurt it."

"That's messed up."

The two tentacles twisted into the air, curling in front of Blake. "It can't really 'pass through' vampire bodies like other blood," Blake said. "It breaks through."

"So--I have too many organs? Does this mean I'm the healthiest vampire on the planet?"

Blake laughed. "Unfortunately, you're the unhealthiest human on the planet," she admitted. "With loose magical bonds holding together a couple parts of your insides. Vampires can go upwards of a month without blood before dying, but if I were you, I would try to avoid going a week without any blood."

"Can you fix me?" Nora asked. 

"With the same rite that could fix the other vampires I made? Yes. It is a form of the same greater restoration spell I already have access too, but on a much larger scale. Designed for dealing with a plague that happened a few centuries back. It can regrow organs, missing limbs--" She reached out and touched one of the gray tendrils. "It might be able to get rid of this. Who knows? It'll certainly fix your discomfort, if not fully set you to being a vampire or a human as long as we draw the chalk lines properly."

"Good God," Nora muttered, leaning back. "This conversation made me more uncomfortable than I would have assumed it would."

"Anything related to dhampir magic tends to be messy," Blake sighed. "But, to avoid any potential arguments with your friends, I'll avoid ripping out your throat and just use the simpler, if more difficult, spell." She smiled, patted Nora's shoulder, then crawled in through the window and went inside, the tendrils flicking as she moved. 

Nora didn't return to her bed for quite some time afterwards. 


	17. Chapter 17

When Weiss woke up, the only ones still asleep were the dhampirs, Yang and Blake. The former had one hand around Weiss's waist, and the latter looked oddly cute. She'd pulled her blanket up to her shoulders, and was lying on her side, facing the room at large. Her ears poked out of her small mess of hair, and she moved up and down in rhythm with her breath. The Butcher of Menagerie looked young and innocent, and a small, distant part of Blake's mind immediately said, "Protect."

Of course, a counter to that was a decent sized chunk of her mind still wanted Blake dead. She touched her scar, flashes of memory coming back to her about that night. She didn't actually remember the majority of the fight, she realized. And--how had she gotten it? She'd jumped in front of one of Blake's attacks, saving Ruby. 

Another hand wrapped around hers, and she almost instinctively threw Yang. Again. But she managed to stop herself. 

"I'm sure I wouldn't have minded you throwing me a third time," Yang whispered, obviously knowing exactly what Weiss was thinking. 

Weiss didn't want to admit it, but knew she couldn't lie to Yang. Instead she said, "Have you been awake long? Because if I actually slept longer than you, than we have a problem."

Yang laughed. "Not that long, no."

"I made coffee!" Summer's exuberant voice cried. "Well, I paid the innkeeper to use his stuff, but I still did it."

"...we're with everyone else," Weiss remembered. 

"I forgot," Yang admitted, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. "Time?"

"Early o'clock." Summer shrugged. "Don't act like you expect me to remember what time it was."

"She forgot how old she was and, apparently, never bothered to check the current year with the year of her birth," Blake muttered. 

"It...never seemed that important," Summer muttered. 

Blake laughed bitterly, hopping up and stretching. She pulled on the violet overcoat, wrapping it over her shoulders. She turned to where Nora sat, eating porridge, and said, "Remember--either direction, but it will not be easy to change your mind afterwards. Fully human, or fully vampire, almost a one-way ticket." 

An eerie silence settled in the room. With a sigh, Nora tilted her head book, pointing to the scar. "We talked about fixing this last night," she said. "She gave me a way over-descriptive explanation of blood magic and an explanation of what exactly is wrong with me."

"I...didn't quite put it like that," Blake muttered, rubbing her eyes. She blinked in surprise as Summer put a cup of coffee in her hand. "Do we have any plan for getting the book from Calavera?"

"Not yet," Blake said. "I've thought of a couple ways we can bring the matter up to Oscar, but--"

"Let's just go ask," Yang said, sipping her coffee and standing straight. "I'm sure honesty won't hurt."

"That's your plan? Walk up and ask? You realize that the two of us could be executed for walking inside that castle? Salem was understanding enough, apparently, concerning you, but I'm sure the guy whom you didn't save will be quite a bit less so."

"I mean, we kinda saved him a big hassle where Mom is concerned," Yang said with a shrug. "And we stopped a big war between humans and vampires...again."

"Oscar is the son of the man who started the war," Blake snorted. "How much do you think he'll care about that?"

"He wasn't raised by Ozpin," Summer said. "Don't you remember? His queen ran away from him shortly after the war. Oscar is her son--raised by a woman who hated every moment spent with Ozpin."

Blake considered that. "Well, we might have a chance," she admitted. "Let's get this over with."

Nothing much was said the rest of the day. They got to the city gates by nightfall, but found them closed. Jaune pulled the carriage up to a halt, shaking his head as Summer stepped out. 

"The capital doesn't let people in after dark," he said. "That's their one stipulation on when you can go into the city. It's been around as long as I can remember, and the exceptions are rare, if any."

"Oh, come on!" Blake burst out. She kicked a rock, and it ricocheted off the metal gate and off into the dark. "Just fucking perfect!" She stomped over and kicked the door, then bounced back on one leg, rubbing her foot and muttering obscenities. 

"Here we go again," Summer said, shaking her head. She walked over and put a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Come on. We can make a fire, tell a few stories, and wrap ourselves in blankets overnight. It's not that cold." Blake sighed. Then, she threw one last rock at the gate. It bounced off and flung into a nearby dead tree. A raven cawed. Blake shook her head, then snapped her gaze towards the tree. 

Every branch was covered in ravens. Dozens of them, weighing the tree down. All of the ravens turned their heads in unison to look sideways at Blake. 

"Mom?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. The ravens all turned to her. "Whoa. You said you could do that, but--damn, I didn't think it would look quite that cool."

"I mean, she's one person," Summer said. "Shouldn't she turn into, you know, one raven?"

"Summer, be reasonable. A human has many times the body mass of a raven," Blake said, shaking her head. "Simple science, Summer."

"You...know of a way we can get in tonight?" Yang asked. The ravens stared at her, then, as one, flew up into the air and over the wall with a great cawing. 

"Let's wait a minute," Yang suggested. A few minutes later, she saw the flock of ravens fly away into the night sky. 

"Can anyone with a Relic do that?" Ruby asked. "If so, why are we leaving the extras back there?"

"I didn't leave them, for the record," Blake said. "The first time, anyway. The problem is eventually you'll get to the point where they end up in the hands of someone who didn't need them. We need to relocate them somewhere else later...dump them in Salem's basement. Maybe find a bunch of girls somewhere, train them to use the power justly, and pass them onto other people like they were given them."

"On our way back, let's pick them up," Summer said. 

"No, you don't get one," Blake told Ruby firmly. 

"This is why Summer's the fun Mom," Ruby muttered, folding her arms over her chest. 

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Blake cried. 

"Jeeze, calm down." Yang snickered, covering her mouth. "Mom."

Before whatever insult had come to Blake's tongue could be thrown, a great clattering sound started up. The gates slowly creaked open, and a vaguely familiar, unkempt figure stood on the other side with a small troop of armed soldiers. 

Black hair, an overcoat that was unbuttoned, and the strong stench of whiskey. 

Qrow took a long draft from his flask, then looked over the group. "Word of advice--if a raven ever raps upon your chamber door, ignore it and go to bed."


	18. Chapter 18

"Oscar's been expecting your group for a day or so now," Qrow said, leading the group into a watchtower built into the wall. "But his days are busy, so you can see him tomorrow."

"I didn't know you worked at the capital," Yang said. "And you know the king personally?"

"The border patrols were for training," Velvet said with a shrug. "But yeah. We actually have rooms in the capital. Oscar's really nice."

"How's your leg?" Yang asked. 

"Works like new," Velvet said, giving a thumbs up. 

"Is that why you're limping?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. With a chuckle, she added, "I'm no miracle worker, there's no way you walked from that without a scar and, yeah, a limp. But glad to know it got better!"

"You know them?" Blake asked Weiss. Weiss shook her head. "We met them once. Yang helped Velvet after Knucklavee hurt her."

"Ah." 

"That was not pleasant, Butcher," Qrow added, opening a door and stepping into a barracks room. "You can spend the night here, if ya want."

"Thanks," Summer said with a bow. "You can tell His Majesty that we look forward to meeting him."

Qrow stretched, quickly leaving the room. Summer grinned. "Yup. He still hates me." A squeaking, creaking sound made her turn around. Blake had fallen face first onto a bed, and she pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. 

"She has the right idea," Yang said, rubbing her eyes. "Four beds, and...how many of us? Ruby, Weiss, Blake, me...Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren...Neo, Summer...God, ten of us. This might get a little crowded."

Several of the others turned to look at Saffron. Yang followed their gazes, then sucked in a deep breath, tensing up. "Um..."

"Our parents live in the capital," Saffron said coldly. "We'll take the carriage over to them, call us when it's time to go back to the capital." Shaking his head disapprovingly, Jaune followed her out the door. 

"I can't be the only one who forgot about her," Yang said defensively. 

"I mean, she hasn't said much, but at least I didn't completely forget about her," Ruby said. "Sure, I didn't think about her, but--come on, Yang. Heartless."

"To be fair...I've forgotten way more important stuff than Sapho," Summer said, patting Yang's shoulder. 

"Saffron," Pyrrha corrected. 

"Who?" Summer frowned, then sat at the edge of one of the beds and pulled her boots off. "Well, let's work out who's sleeping where and make like a dhampir."

"Tomorrow's not going to be that busy, is it?"

"Shouldn't be," Ruby said. "I mean, we're just talking to the king, then going to get the book from this Oscar person...right?"

"Since when have things ever been cut and dry?" Blake muttered. 

When Blake opened her eyes, the rest of everyone had gotten dressed and ready for the meeting. She bolted upright, stretching, then pulled out her sword. "Fuck," she muttered. She spared one glance at the rest of the room, as everyone turned to her. "My sword's rusty," Blake explained. "I suppose getting left in a leaky, underground cellar for, what? Fifty years?"

"It's not that bad," Summer said. "We can try getting repaired back at the capital, but we don't have a lot of funds on us at the moment. Besides, I know you don't have any personal attachment to that thing cuz you have four or five of those things scattered around."

"Summer...I'm going to be honest with you. You're an idiot."

"Rude."

"You're completely ignorant of your surroundings. Do you have any idea why I got out my sword to check it?"

"I--no."

"Qrow called me 'Butcher' last night," Blake pointed out, sheathing her sword roughly. "That means he knows who I am. He recognized me, and I never fought him during the war. If Oscar didn't already know who I was...he does now. But I feel like he already knew."

"Qrow didn't call you--"

"You weren't paying attention!" Blake snapped. She jumped to her feet. "You didn't notice it, just like you haven't noticed lots of things! Like how I made my base of operations outside your home! Like how many people I killed right under your nose! _Like what's happened to Yang!"_

The words hung in the air, silencing everything. Summer looked to Yang, confused. "What do you mean? She looks fine?"

Blake stood, stock still. She strode quickly across the room, then yanked out a small tuft of Yang's hair, ignoring the dhampir's startled cry. Blake shoved the tuft into Summer's face, crying, "Are you blind? Is that hair yellow, or white?"

Summer blinked, holding up the tuft. "I--" Blake stormed from the room, her fur coat flying behind her. "I don't understand," Summer said quietly. "What--why is your hair turning white?" After a moment's pause, she added, "What...age are you?" 

"Twenty-two," Yang answered. 

"I am blind," Summer muttered. "Fucking Christ..." Her face fell into her hands. 

"It's fine," Yang said hurriedly. "I'm fine. Really."

Summer looked up, tears streaming down her face. She rushed forward, wrapping Yang in a hug. "I'm sorry, I should have payed attention...I never pay attention I--"

" _Mom._ Chill," Yang said firmly. "Everything is fine." She smiled encouragingly at Summer. 

Summer sat back, holding Yang's hands. "You never call me 'mom'," she said. 

"Oh--I--I guess I don't." Yang shrugged. "Well...you are. As much figuratively as M-Raven was literally."

"I bet Raven pays a lot more attention to everything than I do," Summer muttered. "She'd have noticed Blake a long time before I did."

"She would not, however, have stopped her," Yang pointed out. "I mean, don't get me wrong--I'm glad I met her, for a number of reasons. But I'm not going to pretend that she's even close to as much of a saint as you are, and neither does she."

"I'm no saint, Yang."

"None of us are. Yet...some of us are closer than others, and if you ask me, making me coffee everyday was pretty damn heavenly," Yang said with a wink for good measure. 

Summer let out a snort, wiping her eyes. "God, I'm a mess," she said. "I'm gonna go get Blake. Meet you at the gates, then we'll go see this Oscar guy."

Summer stopped outside the tower, then circled around it. She smiled as she looked over at a crooked tree with a patch of leaves curiously darker on it. In fact, it only had two small patches...

"Summer." Blake turned around, legs swinging off a branch. Pyrrha sat beside her--when she'd left the room, Summer had no clue. 

"We're about to leave for Oscar's," Summer said. 

"What I said was uncalled for," Blake said. "I'm sorry."

This was not the first time Blake had shouted at her in anger. Summer had often said that Blake had issues, and one of her biggest was wrath. She would explode over impossibly small things. But she always apologized, later. It had given Summer so much hope for her friend. 

"It's fine. I guess I kind of needed that, anyway." Summer shrugged. "Blake, Pyrrha? Let's go."

Blake leapt down, Pyrrha more carefully but still right behind her. "Yeah. Let's."


	19. Chapter 19

The human castle was not as grand as the vampire one, Yang discovered. "It's just a box," she complained. 

"Yang," Summer chided. "They don't have magic."

"And vampires don't have any magics that let them weld stone blocks together, so I have no idea how the castle was built," Yang replied. 

"Relics," Blake explained as the carriage pulled to a stop. She jumped out, saying, "It wasn't workers that built the palace. It was Salem. There's a reason she's the queen."

"Good God," Yang muttered. "By herself? Why did Ozma try going to war with them?"

"Bad advice," Qrow laughed, opening the front gate. 

"How many jobs do you have?" Summer asked. "Border patrol, manning the city gates, and now the palace gates?"

"I was staying in the barracks, and like you, had come into the city quite late in the day." He grinned, adding, "Unlike you, the guards didn't mistake me for anyone's daughter."

"Oh, ha ha," Summer said, rolling her eyes. 

Qrow laughed. "If ya don't believe me, ask Velvet." He disappeared into the castle, leaving the four guards standing around awkwardly. 

"'I didn't know Summer had three daughters'," Coco mimicked, thumping Velvet in the back. 

"I--I thought Summer was dead and that I'd just misheard Qrow…" Velvet murmured, rubbing her head and blushing. 

Before Summer could respond, Weiss stepped forward, saying, "Come on. Let's go."

"Seriously, this place is pretty small compared to Salem's," Yang said. "If you're ever in the neighborhood, stop by at the castle. It's a treat!"

"If we ever go out that far, maybe," Velvet chuckled. "But honestly? I'm fine in here for now. Oscar's nice, and the pay is actually really good for the amount of work we do."

"Do you know him personally?" Yang asked, bouncing up next to her. 

"Quite well, at this point," Velvet answered. 

"We helped fend off raiders!" Coco said proudly. 

"There was...a bit of a fiasco," Yatsuhashi explained. "He rewarded us with spots in the guard."

"It was mostly Velvet," Fox said. "She was the only one of us who'd actually had prior combat training, thanks to her mother."

"Draya Scarletina," Blake said. 

Velvet stopped and swiveled, which ended up with her stumbling over her bad leg. Yang tried to catch her, but she righted herself before the blonde could. "How did you--"

"Did she ever tell you about the Battle of Haven?" Blake asked, smiling. "It was rare for me to meet someone more skilled than myself, excepting Summer, of course. Thanks to my magic, she couldn't really kill me, but she danced a sweet circle around me."

Velvet's mouth worked furiously, but she didn't say anything. "Next time you see her, give her my apologies," Blake said, passing Velvet. "No slaughter was necessary that day."

"Fffff..." Velvet clamped her mouth, staring after Blake. Blake stopped in front of a pair of double doors, looking around. "Well?" the dhampir called out. 

"Let's go!" Coco laughed, pushing the door open. 

"--not that short!" a youthful voice was crying out. 

"Sure you aren't, pipsqueak," Qrow laughed. The young king wore a golden robe and a suit of light mail. He sat on a throne at the end of a table, Qrow standing above him. He looked aggravated. 

"You're Majesty," Summer said, giving a half-bow. Weiss curtsied. Ruby copied her mother's bow, as did Nora and the other humans. Yang tried to bow, but ended up falling on her face. She quickly jumped up, dusting herself off and looking as if nothing had happened. 

"No need for that," Oscar said, waving off the decorum. "I was greatly excited to meet you...how many? Seven? Nine?"

"Nine," Summer verified, moving to help Yang. Yang waved her off, then quickly got distracted by a portrait she found on the wall. 

"Please, be seated," Oscar waved again, straightening in his chair. "Cinder had nothing but good words for you."

"Wait, what?" Yang looked to her friends, then to Oscar. "How do you know Cinder? I know she hasn't left the castle in the past two years."

Oscar went still. "She lives...in the castle? I thought she was just a noblewoman..."

There was a long silence. _Oops,_ Yang thought. "Well--um--"

Oscar shook, then burst into a fit of laughter. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he said. "My...father already heard of Salem's secrets. After Blake's failed takeover, we started sending each other letters."

"Let's be honest--there were other reasons why my insurrection was going to fail," Blake said, shaking her head and sitting at the far end of the table. "Aside from the corrupting effects of human blood, Pyrrha would simply have not been able to hold onto the throne long enough to get anything done. Assuming, of course, that with my death the twenty or so coerced, trained, and kidnapped fighters didn't kill her on the spot."

Oscar nodded. "Yes. Long term, it was quite doomed. And...you _are_ free from the influence now, right?"

"Yes," Blake answered. "Giving me a fresh start, with a decent amount of regrets."

"Forgiveness does not come without regret," Qrow said quietly. He seemed to consider drinking from his flask, but then returned it to its pocket. 

"I have a number of questions, but I feel like, as your host, I must first ask--what are you looking for? You can't convince me that you came--two war criminals, two dhampirs, and all--just to chitchat," Oscar asked. 

"Forgiveness," Blake answered. "More specifically, there is a book written by a past Salem with a spell in it that can change the aforementioned twenty back to humans. It _was_ in a little safe back in Patch...but a certain Calavera appears to have gotten it. And yes, it had to have been her because no one else would have known to look in Patch of all places."

"Hmm--I'll send for her. That device of Pietro's may allow her to see, but she can't read with it, so she can't have that much use for a book," Oscar said. "Qrow, will you fetch her?"

"Alright." He left, flashing a self-confident smirk Summer's way. She looked after him, and almost said something when Oscar continued. 

"Now." He sat up, smiling. "I've yet to hear the exact tale of what happened when House Rose saved their kingdom, and mine. Would you mind?"

"He's been dying to hear this one for a while now," Coco chuckled, taking a seat on Oscar's left. Velvet sat on his right. 

"If we have the time," Ruby said. "It's pretty long. It's...more 'author's-best-selling' than 'some-random-romance-novel'."

"We have time," Oscar said. His grin faded as he listened to footsteps. "Ah."

"Is she finally back?" Coco asked. "God, I can't imagine what she's been doing all this time. What kind of person goes off traveling a month before their wedding?"

"Who is it?" Summer asked. 

"My betrothed," Oscar sighed. "An arranged marriage, but she was given the option to deny it. That being said...she appears to despise me."

"Who would marry someone they despise?" Yang snorted. "I'm sure you're overreacting a little bit."

The gentle _clink, clink_ of armor alerted Blake to someone coming down the hallway. She sniffed. She'd smelled that scent before--the person in the abandoned town Summer had caught up to her in? Except now, they were covered in the stench of blood. It smelled like their own. Who was it?

The door opened, and a knight in green armor stopped dead in the door, seeing a room full of strangers. 

"I was entertaining guests, Penny," Oscar explained. "Sorry. I had no idea you were to be back today."


	20. Chapter 20

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Ah. I simply wished to inform you that I'll be here until the wedding day. I had no other plans abroad." Without another word, she left the room. Yang got a brief glimpse of another woman--and she sniffed twice, just to be sure. A dhampir. And Penny herself reeked of blood. Yang met Blake's eyes, and Blake nodded. She was confirming something, though Yang was not able to get the meaning of it. 

"Wait--" The doors slammed shut. Oscar sighed, lowering his hand. "I don't quite know what I did to make her hate me," he said quietly. "But--anyway. On to your stor--where is Belladonna?"

"Blake?" Summer called out. The dhampir had vanished from the room. 

"She was just here," Yang spluttered, rising. "Where did she go?"

"She went out after Penny," Ruby said. "I'll see if I can find her!" And then she was out the door, running fast. 

"For--" Summer jumped to her feet, but banged one leg on her table and stumbled. Swearing foully, she rubbed her knee, glaring out the door. "'Just go in and grab the book', she said," Summer muttered. "'It'll be easy', she said."

"Blake never said that," Pyrrha pointed out. 

"Oh."

"Who were those?" Robyn asked. 

"Don't care," Penny answered. "His guests are his, not mine, to entertain."

"So what exactly was the king's betrothed doing all the way out at the border?" a voice asked. A figure stepped away from the walls ahead of them, purple robe shaking with the motion.

Penny spun, looking over her shoulder. "How did you get ahead of us?" she burst out, looking back. 

"Going where I shouldn't without anyone noticing is something of a specialty of mine," she said with a smile. 

"Butcher," Robyn squeaked. Blake turned to her, cocking her head sideways. "One of the Gluttons' dhampirs?" she said. "How did you--oh. Now I get it." She flashed grin, a broken fang showing in her mouth. 

Penny reached for her sword slowly. Blake laughed. "If you _could_ take me, you would have no reason to. You were hunting the gluttons, right? That explains how you ended up so drenched in your own blood." She wrinkled her nose, but returned to her smile. "Your friend must be the only reason you survived that fight. Which did you kill? Knucklavee was slain two years ago...so who's the last one standing?"

"I killed Crown," Penny answered quickly. Blake did not seem as clever as she evidently thought she was. But how good was she at telling lies?

The Butcher stood there, looking her up and down. Then, she gave her several claps. "Good job. Cordovin is not an easy target--nor an innocent one. Many people would sleep better knowing she's dead."

"Blaaaake!" Ruby rushed down the corridor, stopping when she saw them. "Blake? What's up?" She sniffed. "Dear God, what is that smell?" She covered her nose, waving a hand over her face. 

Blake stepped past Penny, putting a hand on her shoulder as she passed. "Just--take a bath." She continued past Ruby, who shrugged her shoulders. "Blake? What was that about?" She continued after her friend. 

Penny sniffed her arm. "I don't smell that bad, do I?" she asked. 

"To a vampire's heightened smell?" Robyn nodded. 

"And you didn't say anything because..."

"I didn't want to cause offense..."

"Never be scared that you'll offend me," Penny ordered, giving the dhampir a serious look. Then, shaking her head, she continued on to her room. 

None of them knew all the little details of the story, but all of them knew at least a little. Yang was surprised when most of them actually learned a little more about all that had happened--Blake and Summer had actually been absent for most of their journey, so it was almost all knew to her. When it was all told, she said, "So Pyrrha killed Knucklavee."

"You didn't know?" Pyrrha asked, surprised. "Then how did you know of my betrayal?"

"A little feeling I'd felt only once before, with Miss Valkyrie," Blake said with a nod to the other. "The first vampire I'd made who told me 'no'. When she did that, I felt a twinge. Like a gut punch. I felt it again, a day or so later, and managed to put together what it meant." She leaned back, stretching her arms. "I never went through Raven's little forest, but I did manage to sniff out the unique smell of a dhampir as I passed that little village."

A silence fell after she said that. She looked away from everyone else, lost in her own thoughts. 

"Oscar?" Coco's voice called out. She peaked into the room. "The Reaper is here."

"Longer than expected," Oscar frowned. "Well, send her in."

Blake pulled out her sword, examining the blade. "That won't be necessary," Oscar assured her. 

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I'll make sure of it," Oscar said firmly. 

Blake sighed, disappointed. "This is why Salem is the fun monarch," she muttered. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo...there might have been a little continuity error in terms of timeline, as I've apparently stated multiple different timespans for how long they've been staying at Cinder's castle. In chapter 1, Ruby said, "it's hard to believe it's our first winter here". The one I've been consistent with--Blake and Summer have been dead for 2 years. From this point forward, they had been staying at Cinder's castle for six months when Summer died. Sorry for the confusion.

The woman in violet did not look like one who had started a twenty year war for money. What got Ruby's attention were the goggles she had over her eyes. They appeared to be mechanical. She sighed, her eyes focusing directly on Blake. "Your first life proved that God does not exist," she proclaimed. "That you live again proves Satan does."

"It proves that God does not control everyone, and that he is a hell of a lot more merciful than I'll ever be," Blake snorted. 

"To each their own." She pulled out a thick tome, holding it up. "This is what you wanted?"

"You _did_ have it," Blake muttered. 

Maria Calavera dropped it on the king's table, then turned to Oscar. "Will that be all, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, that's all she needed...right, Blake?"

"I'd like to publicly execute her, but I feel like one too many people would disapprove of that," Blake replied. "So yes, that's all." She opened the book, flipping through the pages as Maria strode away. Ruby, uncertain of herself, decided to follow her. She met Blake's eyes on the way out, but it appeared that Blake was the only one who noticed her leaving. 

_Mom never was that observant,_ Ruby admitted to herself. She apparently hadn't noticed how Yang was aging--then again, Ruby barely had herself. She had looked up one day, and saw white in Yang's hair. It had shocked her to the core. She had never wanted to think about this--neither had Yang. But Yang was going to die someday. And it was going to be sooner than any of them wanted. 

When Ruby found her, Maria was standing in front of a painting, her goggles raised to her forehead. Ruby stepped up behind her, looking at the portrait. A man in green, with glasses and white hair. A crown sat upon his head, and his cloak went to the ground. Curiously, the background throne room in the painting was a vivid green instead of its standard gray stone. 

Ruby guessed it was Ozpin. The deceased king. "Were you friends?" Ruby asked quietly. Maria jumped, a panicked look in her eyes as she hurriedly fixed the goggles over her eyes. Ruby was not surprised to find out that Maria had her eyes again--Blake may have sliced them out, but Ruby knew that a 'greater restoration spell' was something that existed. Obviously, the goggles were made to let her see, but were too limited for her to be content. So she'd sought out the book. Ruby nodded to the portrait. "Was he a friend of yours?"

"I don't have friends. I have associates that give good deals, and ones that give bad deals," Maria snorted. She glared down--or Ruby assumed she was--at the young vampire. 

"That's sad," Ruby said. 

"What do you want?" Maria growled. "Money? Lands? Jewels?"

"I was just trying to talk," Ruby said with a shrug. "I mean, everyone else hates you but Blake's...'reformed' is the word. Or reforming, at least. I kind of wanted to see if you were interested in second chances."

The Grimm Reaper snarled, baring her fangs. "Listen here, _girl--_ "

Ruby bared her own fangs. "You lost to Blake--when she wasn't as strong as when I fought her. I didn't fare much better, but I'm certainly not scared of you. You don't need to be like this." Ruby turned and walked back to the throne room, sighing. The stunned Maria didn't move anywhere, and Ruby entered the throne room to see Blake flipping through the book. "No," she hissed. "No! _Maria!_ "

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked. 

"The bitch ripped pages from the book!" Blake snarled. She jumped to her feet. "The ones I needed the most!"

"Why would I rip them out?" Maria snorted, stepping back into the room. "I can't even see the pages, because of you. Remember?" She tapped her goggles. 

"But--wait--" Ruby looked at her. "I just saw your eyes a second ago. I assumed you used a spell to fix them."

There was a long silence. All the color drained from Maria's face. Blake slowly closed the book in front of her. "Greater restoration, right? Finding someone to read Runic is simply a matter of finding a translator who can read the god-awful handwriting. And there are enough vampires in the city to where you could have payed one to perform the rite with you. But you certainly would not have needed to rip the fucking pages from the book." Blake jumped over the table, glaring Maria down. "What did you do with them?"

"I didn't rip any pages from the book," Maria said defensively. "And I watched the vampire I hired carefully--I could see that much, at least. They ripped no pages from the book--it must have been like that when I found it."

Blake turned and grabbed the book. She flipped through it, stopping suddenly when she found what she was looking for. "Greater restoration is still here...she's telling the truth."

"Where did the pages go, then?" Yang asked, frowning. 

Blake lifted a hand, and slammed it down onto the table. The wood broke, splintering and cracking beneath her fist as various items and dishes that had been on it fell to the ground. "We traveled all this way...all this work, all that hope...for this? For...a couple of torn pages that could be scattered across the country?"

Pyrrha put a hand on Blake's shoulder. Blake stumbled backwards into a chair, rubbing her face. She laughed, bitterly. "What a waste of time."

"Not...necessarily." Neo did not often speak. She spoke quietly, but all eyes looked to her. Maria chose that moment to slip out as Neo explained. "I know a guy who managed to get his hands on a lot of books that would be dangerous to be publicly available, minimum. Pay him money, and he'll let you read from some of the books, while being watched, of course. It was one of the illegal trades he engaged in."

"Yes, but he's almost a week's carriage ride away," Nora pointed out. "So, yeah. Unfortunately, a big waste of time, Neo."

"I--I saw the sigil. On a library we passed on the way here," Neo admitted. "I didn't mention it, because I didn't want to cause stress. But at the very least, his lackeys are here selling the usual. You and I can go check real quick, see if he's selling what Blake needs."

"You need me to go with you?" Ren asked. 

"Ren. I love you. Because of that, the last person I want to introduce you to is Father."


	22. Chapter 22

The strange glyph on the building's doors stated it's owners, and the picture of a stack of books stated its purpose. To anyone who knew what to look for, they could find it. 

And to anyone who'd been running from that symbol for a large portion of her life, it took immense resolve to go through the double doors. Nora couldn't help one last glance over her shoulder, seeing Jaune in the front of a carriage, talking with Blake. Summer and Ruby were inside. 

Neo put a hand on Nora's shoulder as they stepped inside. "It's okay," Neo said with an encouraging smile. Nora took her hand, feeling Neo's pulse at the wrist. Her pulse was going fast. 

The building was dark. Several long shelves stretched to the back of the building. No windows let in sunlight--the room's light came from an odd, glass bulb connected to the ceiling. Directly in front of the shelves was a desk, with two familiar faces behind it. 

"It's been a long time, Nora. Neo." Corsac smiled toothily. 

"I take it you're not here to see Roman?" Fennec asked. 

"He's here?" Nora asked, stopping. Only Neo's firm grip kept her from bolting then and there. Roman had never moved from Salem's capital, not since before the war, if his word could be trusted. 

"He's seeking a few...business ventures here," Corsac explained. A distant popping sound echoed throughout the building. It sounded familiar, though Nora couldn't place where.

"You know--the usual," Fennec added. "Though I feel like that was a warning shot more than anything else."

"We're looking for a book," Neo interrupted. "A magic one."

Corsac and Fennec shared a glance. "I feel as if you wouldn't have come here if it were _any_ magic book," Corsac said. 

"And we haven't gotten our spy networks up yet, so you're going to have to be more specific," Fennec added. 

"One of the ones by Salem," Nora said. "She's written dozens of books over the years, and you can find them scattered about. I'm sure Roman's got one or two in this place."

"Hmm...Roman's definitely found them," Corsac said. "Though, since our customers aren't allowed to remove the books from the buildings, dense reads like hers aren't generally kept on the shelves."

"You're welcome to look around, but if you don't find it, you'll have to leave a note with Roman and borrow it," Fennec said. 

Nora grimaced. "Alright." She stepped past them, looking down the shelves. She was surprised that neither moved to follow her--normally, Roman's henchmen would follow the guests through the building to make sure they didn't try stealing anything. That they didn't meant Roman had told them not to. 

Part of her wanted to abuse that trust, and steal a book. Even though every fiber of her being screamed against doing anything to make Roman come after her, the temptation lingered like a bad joke that hung in the air, waiting for laughs that never came. 

"Roman sorts books by author, right?" Nora asked. "I...never did that for him."

"Author, then name, alphabetically," Neo nodded. "So...here we go. Q-T. S should be in the middle." They moved on, walking in between the shelves. They weren't much taller than Nora, meaning they'd be roughly the size of most other people who came in. "Who knew there were so many authors with a name beginning with Q," Neo muttered. "Quail, Quentin...Qarmen. That...that one might be misspelled."

Nora bounced a few times, nervous. "Here we go. S-a." She frowned. "They're aren't any that look like the ones Blake and Yang have."

"Those things are old--Roman would have had them transcribed and most likely translated as well," Neo pointed out. "But no, none are here."

"Well, I guess we--" Nora stopped herself from finishing that statement. "Come on. He's got that secondary stash of the books you have to schedule, remember?"

"Um--aren't we overstepping a little?"

"Not if we don't take them out of the library," Nora said, leading the way. "We find Salem's book, find the spell, copy it down, word-for-word, bring it to Blake, ride off into the sunset."

The small little shelf was not full, and had multiple empty spots. And of course, it was right next to three separate office doors. Nora sniffed, smelling the light stench of smoke. Part of the smell came from a fireplace that must have been lit where Roman was. The rest of it...had an odd smell. Nora hadn't smelled anything quite like it before. Evidently, it was strong enough for a human nose like Nora's to detect, as she said, "A friend from the capital built that little toy for Roman. Got hired on the spot. Any time Roman wants to kill someone quickly, just... _bang._ "

"Shh," Nora said, putting a finger to her lips. She strained her ears, listening. 

"--out of your goddamn mind?" Roman's voice hissed. "I don't particularly care if I commit treason, but the risk is way too high for way too little. I have no assurance that you'd keep this promise of yours. And finally, I like the current king. He possesses many of my favorite qualities to find in a monarch. He's dumb and doesn't pay too much attention to his backstreets, and is super busy trying to keep his crown. All things that benefit me."

"The payment can be--"

"It's not about the fucking payment!" Roman burst out. "Doing anything like this would mean coming out. No longer being the 'Darkened' Sigil. The only reason my organization is still around is because no one knows about. Quite a number of people don't even know they're in it. As it stands, too many people know about it--the fact that you're here, the King's own betrothed, proves it well enough, doesn't it?"

"No mention of--"

"But there are always traces," Roman said. "My answer is no. Once and for all."

"You're making a mistake," Penny's voice came in reply. 

"You are, by still being here. _Out."_

"But--"

 _Click._ "Out!"

The leftmost of the doors opened, and the green-clad figure of Penny Polendina strode out. A dhampir walked right behind her, giving a frightened glance towards Roman. Her gaze met Nora's, and she frowned, as if trying to remember something, before hurrying to follow Penny outside.

A cane tapped against the floor, the door closing. A white coat swept just over the ground, and Roman pulled a cigar from his pocket. He held up one finger, lighting it with a small, orange blowtorch of magic, and took a long puff. He exhaled. The cigar smoke smelled similar to the smoke that had apparently come from Roman's weapon--Nora guessed it was the curved, metal object he wore at his side and had been polishing during her last meeting with the master vampire. 

Then his gaze fell to the two of them. He let out a single chuckle, smiled, and walked away, cane tapping against the floor. 

Nora exhaled, falling backwards. Neo began sifting through the books on the mini-shelf. "That wasn't as bad as expected," Nora said finally. 

"In his own way, he loves us," Neo said. "It doesn't particularly look like love, but--"

"How is anything he's done to us been 'love'?" Nora spat the word out. "He locked us in cells regularly."

Neo apparently didn't want to remind Nora that it had mostly been the latter who was thrown in cells. Instead, she said, "As he told me, every father disciplines his children."

"Are you--"

"I am _not_ saying I agree with him," Neo said firmly, in a much louder voice than she normally spoke. "That is what he told me when I tried to kill him."

Nora blinked as Neo flipped through a black, leather-bound book quickly. "You tried to kill him?" she whispered. 

"That was the day I learned that 'Master Vampire' is not just an honorary title," Neo answered. "There's a difference in the kind of power wielded. You've seen Summer do her work, right? You know why they call her 'the War Rose'?"

"The vines...right?"

"Have you tried manipulating the magic like that?" Neo asked, putting the book back on the shelf and rising. 

"Once or twice. I could never get it to work."

"There's a special spell you have to do to become a Master Vampire," Neo explained. "Maybe ask Blake or Summer about it sometime. But that one, nor the one we were looking for, are here. Let's go." She lead the way out. 

As Nora followed her, she said, "I've learnt my lesson about asking Blake questions about magic."


	23. Chapter 23

"You saw the king's betrothed in there?" Blake said, a dark glare forming over her face.

Nora nodded. "She was apparently trying to get Roman to lend her troops to aid her treason."

"She smelled strongly of blood when we met her," Ruby admitted. "Her own, I think."

"I assumed she fought someone, then the dhampir healed her up," Blake replied. "Or...she was the one with Raven, getting the Relic. I saw her in that town, very close to the border. I didn't know who she was, and she was quite a ways away through a snowstorm, so I didn't say anything, or even see her face. It's very possible she followed a path similar to ours, but was ahead of us because of the loop around we did."

"Do you think Oscar will believe us?" Neo asked. 

"I don't think he'll believe we're trying to mislead him--if he doesn't believe us, it'll most likely be because he thinks we're just wrong," Summer said. "Worst case scenario--we'll have done everything we can if we tell him and he doesn't believe us. Even if he kicks us out--let's face it, he's not stupid enough to try and imprison us--we just head back to our capital, have Cinder prepare in case of attack. I don't think anyone could get an army to try attacking the vampires again, though."

"There is that," Nora said. "But...I don't like the idea of just leaving that poor kid to deal with it. If Penny's been staging a rebellion from inside the king's own palace..."

"It's not a rebellion," Summer realized. 

"Fuck," Blake added. "If the king dies, then who becomes the ruler?"

"The innocent queen," Summer said with a grim nod. "Get a few ally soldiers, to help protect you from anyone who doesn't buy the story, and you'd be all set to rule for a good long time without anyone finding out what you did."

"It wouldn't be insurrection, or a coup de tat," Ruby said, catching up to the two of them. "It would be a tragedy."

"Accidents don't have culprits," Blake spat. "It was worth coming out here to learn this, even if we didn't get the book. But _damn,_ I'm an idiot! How did I fall for that whole, 'yeah, I killed a Glutton'. So stupid..."

"Don't be so harsh on yourself," Summer said. "None of us paid attention to her. We were more focused on things like Calavera and--"

"That would be who Calavera got to help with the ritual! Not having eyes, she wouldn't have been able to do the magic except by repeating after them--which is dangerous beyond reason. But a dhampir and a human with a Relic could easily do it," Blake slapped her face. "Fucking...son of a...gah! I'm too mad at myself right now!"

"Come on," Summer said as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the castle. "Neo, Nora, get the rest of us. We're going to see His Majesty."

Summer, Ruby, and Blake burst into the throne room to see Oscar and Qrow talking to a man in white. They stopped as the group burst in. Pyrrha had been waiting for Blake's return, and followed curiously into the room. Summer looked over her shoulder, seeing Nora and Neo leading the rest of their group into the throne room. 

"It was pleasant to talk to you all, don't get me wrong," Oscar said hesitantly. He motioned to Qrow, signaling him to stand at ease. Qrow ignored the order, keeping his hand on his blade. "But I do have other work to do, so--"

"We bring news of treason, Your Majesty," Summer said with a slight dip of her head. 

"I do hope this doesn't become normal for us," Yang said with a sigh, rubbing her eyes. 

Oscar sighed. "Oh dear."

"The standing troops we have should be sufficient to deal with any rebels, Your Majesty," the man in white offered. 

"It's not just about the fight, James," Qrow told the other. "Whether or not we beat them is irrelevant. If they convince everyone they're right, we've already lost."

"I do not believe she has any troops," Blake said darkly. "The evidence was there, and I'm a fool for not having seen it. We ran into her twice on our way here."

"When?" Yang said. "Are you talking about--"

"The person Raven was giving the Relic too," Blake interrupted. "I believe it to be Penny Polendina."

Now Qrow relaxed, frowning. "What evidence do you have?" he said carefully. 

Nora told what had happened in Roman's 'business' front, and Blake finished up with their meeting with Raven and the conversation she'd had with Penny. 

"It does seem to add up, if it is true," James said. 

"Yes, General Ironwood, but I hesitate to agree with them," Oscar said. "I have no reason to believe you would try to deliberately mislead us, but it could be mostly chance, or you having gotten the wrong person, or perhaps, another explanation--"

"With all due respect, pipsqueak, I don't think she likes you very much," Qrow admitted. 

Oscar pondered the issue a moment, then rang a bell. A servant rushed in, and Oscar said, "Bring in Penny." The servant rushed off, and Oscar asked Blake, "So Raven...was trying to assist in this plot?"

Blake nodded. "She used to work in the army, right?" Yang asked. "Is that where you met her, Qrow?"

Qrow stiffened. "You could say that." Yang would have to ask Raven about Qrow sometime--evidently they were on speaking terms, because Raven got him to let them in. 

Penny came in, waving off the servant. She narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the room. "What is the problem?" she asked evenly. Blake looked behind her, seeing the dhampir following her. 

"Did you pass by Argus on your return trip to the capital?" Oscar asked. Not unpleasantly, but in a more serious tone than he'd spoken in until now. 

Penny shrugged. "How am I supposed to know the names of every abandoned town I went through?" Penny said. "How close is it to the border?"

"You've been to Argus before," Ironwood put in. "That's where we went on your training run. You showed off your knowledge by telling everyone the city's main exports."

Penny frowned, looking up at the ceiling as if in thought. "Was that that place? Ah...it's been a while, sorry. Must have slipped my mind."

"Damn," Blake whispered. "Aside from my previous evidence, I can't tell if she's lying."

Summer nodded. "Talented, if she is lying."

"Why would I lie about this?" Penny demanded. "It was years ago, on a mission where nothing of interest happened. How can you expect me to remember that? And what is going on?"

"Hey," Qrow said, slipping a hand into his pocket. "Catch." He threw a colorless crystal at her. She caught it out of the air, frowning. It lit up a bright green, and she immediately dropped it. It cracked against the floor. 

"You clever little bastard," Blake said, tossing an admiring glance Qrow's way. 

"That is a Dust crystal," Qrow explained to Oscar. "A little trick I learned during the war to tell if I enemy soldiers were nearby. It glows in the presence of magic--though in a few cases, it has to be touching the source in order to glow. Such as, someone wielding a Relic, like Raven, or, as I just demonstrated, Penny. The Relics are, in fact, locked in a vault in Argus." He turned and said to Summer, "Whatever problems I have with you don't affect my job."

Penny stood stock still. "Penny," Oscar said. "I am still willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and forgive you if you admit to this. So tell me. Did you start a plot to assassinate me and assume the throne yourself?"

The silence in the room weighed heavily on everyone there. Penny got over her shock, looking around the room. Then, she snatched a dagger from her belt and hurled it at Oscar. 


	24. Chapter 24

In a room full of vampires, a single knife was unlikely to hit its target. The two following it were unexpected, and a stray magic bolt was at that point, just as likely to kill the king. Blake sought to intercept all possible odds of the king's death, and threw herself in the way of the only knife that slipped through the storm of magic. She meant to catch it, but it caught her arm, sticking in the arm close to her elbow. She hissed in pain as weapons were drawn and pointed at Penny. Blake pulled the dagger from her arm, tossing it to the side. She was surprised when the wound didn't close itself--she had to manually stop and use her magic. Inconvenient. 

Penny stood on guard, hands on her swords' hilts. Robyn ducked down, hands over her heads. Blake guessed she had been in the crossfire of many magic duels. But she couldn't have ever been in anything like what was about to happen.

"Wait!" Oscar cried, jumping back up. He shoved Qrow back, his crown having fallen off. "Stop!" 

"Your Majesty, she has a Relic. We can't just let her do what she--"

"I need to know," Oscar interrupted. He tried stepping in front of Qrow, but Qrow blocked him off. He glared at his bodyguard and friend, but then turned his attention to Penny, and his gaze softened. "I did not grow up around people. It was just me and Mother, in a hut in the woods. I came to the city when Qrow brought news of Oz--Father's death. I came to help where I could, because I could. Instead, I've had to spend the past two years scrabbling and and clawing to keep this crown and duty, and defend it against people who 'know better'. When the arranged marriage was first proposed, I was glad that I would have someone to help me. Someone to have my back. Instead, I met someone who hated me for reasons I could never place since before she met me. No matter what I tried, nothing softened your heart. Please. Why do you hate me?"

"Perhaps...I don't hate you as much as I once did, hearing that," Penny said slowly. She relaxed, just slightly, and Blake itched to go in immediately. Her every combat instinct screamed to attack. She held her ground, however. "I never quite considered things from your point of view. It's rather...pitiful that you found yourself in this situation."

Oscar seemed glad. "Then perhaps...we can just talk this one out?" 

Penny answered, "You're still not the king we need. Sorry." She leapt back, grabbing Robyn with one hand and shooting out the other. A wall of ice formed in between her and the majority of the rest of them as she ran into the hallway. 

Blake cursed as she started moving, but stopped to let Yang smash through the ice barricade. Her jaw dropped as Yang moved faster than any human could, ducked beneath a blast of fire, and punched Penny. A grown woman, in a full suit of armor, sent _flying._ The crash echoed down the corridors as Yang rushed off. 

Penny hit the wall with a deafening crash, a banner falling down on top of her. Even past the clanging metal, Yang heard the crack of a bone. A shoulder? No, one of Penny's ribs--as she struggled to her feet, Yang saw that her armor had a large dent where Yang had struck. She clenched her fist, then gasped. One of her own fingers had broken. _Of course it did,_ Yang thought. 

"It doesn't need to go down like this," Yang said. "Come on. You don't need to die."

"I have no worry that I'll die today," Penny laughed. "One way or another... _Hazel!_ "

Yang smelled the attacker coming from behind, and rolled to the side as he swung at her. The man was huge. Yang hadn't thought it was possible for people to get that big--at least not without risk to their health. He swung a blow at her, and she held up her hands in a block stance. The impact rippled through her arms, pain flaring up across them. Yang grunted, shoving back as Hazel stepped back, sizing her up. He clearly hadn't expected her strength--she looked human, and even a dhampir wouldn't normally be as strong as she was. Hazel cracked his neck, bouncing on his feet before throwing a few more punches. Yang ducked back, circling around him and throwing a jab. She held back, knowing now that she was quite a bit stronger than previously expected. Hazel stumbled, but spun on one foot and struck at Yang. She parried a few punches, circling back a bit. Hazel looked behind her, grimaced, then turned and ran. "Get back here!" Yang called out, running after him. Her friends were just behind her, and Hazel was not running that fast. The large man ducked around a corner, sliding past Penny. Despite her injuries, she stood tall, lightning crackling along her arms. Yang tucked into a roll as soon as she saw Penny's arms start moving. But Penny didn't attack her--she struck at the ground, the stone hallway cracking for several dozen feet. A spiderweb network of cracks suddenly appeared under Yang. Yang spared a glance backwards to see Ruby frantically step back off the unstable ground, pulling Summer with her. Blake leapt onto a wall, her tendrils wrapping around a pillar as she surveyed the area. Gritting her teeth, Yang lunged as the floor collapsed. She landed on the ground in front of Penny, breathing heavily for a moment before rising. She lifted her arms in a boxing stance, braced for attack. 

Penny bounced backwards, muttering several excessively obscene swears. Her dhampir friend huddled back, clearly not good in combat. Hazel stood, unsure of what to do. 

And at the back of Yang's mind, a small voice whispered, "I could kill them all."

She quickly shut that part of her out, looking instead to survive the fight. Hazel was strong, but currently one of the most powerful people in the world, Penny was her larger concern. Already, a ring of swords made of ice had formed behind her, locking themselves together to form a shield as Yang hesitated. 

"Neither of us want to fight," Yang said. 

"Then, perhaps, you should have minded your own business," Penny scoffed. Yang struck at her, but found herself bouncing off the shield. She slammed her shoulder into the icy barrier, but failed to break through again. If Penny was surprised, however, she got over it fast, and she shoved against her barrier. The shield shot forward, throwing Yang backwards before disappearing into the air. And Yang fell. She tumbled backwards over the edge of the collapsed flooring, seeing rubble and several bodies poking out. Several thoughts ran through her head as she fell, but all were interrupted by something strong snaking around her waist. Blake? Blake was swinging from a pillar that stood at the edge of the hole, one tendril wrapped around it, the other around Yang, her teeth gritted, one arm holding the tendril tight, the other with her sword raised to fend off potential attacks. For the briefest of moments, she didn't look like the villain Yang had always seen her as. She didn't look like the psychopath Yang had met. She looked like the hero that had inspired many during the war, a paragon of victory and justice. The next moment, Yang realized that her momentum hadn't stopped, it had merely changed directions. She threw out her arms to cover her face as she swung straight into the wall. 

Pain flooded through her, her head ringing. She hit the ground, rolling over stones and dust. For a moment, she couldn't see, couldn't think. Something touched her shoulder, and immediately, her mind screamed, _"FOOD."_ She grappled, hoping to sink her teeth into whatever prey had wandered too close--

A firm hand gripped around her mouth, clamping her jaws shut. Her sight blurred, then Blake came into focus, her face bruised and scratched from the collision, her coat dusty and dirty. "Shhhh," she hushed as Yang regained control of herself. Satisfied, Blake let go, instead prodding at her arms and stomach. Yang winced, but kept her patience. "I...I don't think too much is broken..."

"I don't feel as if I managed to prevent any of that," Blake muttered. She looked up towards the hallway above, glaring at the scorch marks covering the walls. Then, she grabbed one of Yang's hands and traced her fingers along the gray carapace lining her fingers. The glove on that hand appeared to be missing. Blake sighed, a faraway look crossing her face. Her vision blurred again, and as Yang lay down, she heard Blake whisper something to herself. 

"My fault..."


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to more of me not paying attention to what I wrote, I had to quickly edit this chapter after posting it so it actually fit in with(surprise, surprise) continuity. Lemmee know if there's parts I missed that don't make sense or need adjustment!

The church service had ended hours ago. So why was Marrow still here? In the place no one wanted him? He was a vampire priest. Quite a few considered his doing this blasphemous. The woman he was courting had her doubts about how the two of them would come up with the money to raise a family. Every week, one group or another left the church and very few would ever come to replace them. _I should quit,_ Marrow thought. _Get a better job._

His thoughts were interrupted by the double doors opening. Footsteps echoed down the pews as a purple cloak swept the floor. She smelled too human to be a vampire, and too vampire to be a human. She looked young, and very troubled. 

She stopped short of the steps up to the altar, and said simply, "Father, I have sinned." A confession? He sat down on the steps, patting the ground next to him and smiling. "I am here."

The woman sat down, and told a tale. A saga, of horrible happenings and brilliant miracles. It was hard to believe it, but she didn't sound like she was lying. She sounded like she needed help. He listened, without interrupting, to the end. 

"And because I sent Knucklavee after them, she had--had to do that," she struggled. "I--I wanted this second chance so I could _earn_ my forgiveness. But now--things are worse because of me. I can't fix this. There's no way to bring her back up after I dragged her down like that. There's no fixing how I broke her. I...I don't know what to do next."

Marrow considered it for a long moment. He nodded finally, saying, "It seems to me you're talking to the wrong person." The dhampir looked at him, so he elaborated. "It seems to me that you earn your forgiveness not by reversing your sins, because sins cannot be 'reversed' like you seem to think. They always linger. Temptations, memories, scars...forgiveness is earned when you become someone who wants forgiveness. It is given when you make those you wronged want to forgive you. You are, I feel, quite a bit closer to your goal than you think."

She looked the other way, in thought. "I hadn't considered it that way."

"Few people ever consider things someone else's way," Marrow said with a shrug and a smile. "Is that all?"

"'Is that all'," the dhampir scoffed, shaking her head and smiling. "Yeah. Thanks, Father."

Marrow smiled, turning around and touching the wooden fence that stood around the altar. "Well, if you want to talk again, I will be here." He put on his shoes and left, passing another vampire on the way out. 

Pyrrha looked out after the priest, then ignored him and moved over to sit besides Blake. "Blake?"

"You left out that Yang drank human blood when telling the story to Oscar," Blake said. 

"I--"

"Crown and Jaws know that you killed him," Blake muttered. "Both live still--I don't believe Penny actually killed Cordovin now. They'll send people to get vengeance, and then there's the matter of Knucklavee's own return, sooner or later."

Pyrrha stiffened. Blake stood, and lead Pyrrha over to a stained glass window. "Have you heard of the Saints of Shade?" she asked. 

"Yes, but I can't remember what they did," Pyrrha answered. 

"Well...back then, I was not particularly fond of the story. I was, unfortunately, quite fond of Knucklavee, and considered him a friend." She pointed to the glass, and Pyrrha examined the image. Four knights on a bridge, pointing two swords and two spears at a dark horsemen, towering above them. "Their names were Sun, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune. During the war, Knucklavee fought with the vampires. Some survived his rampages. Many innocents died. But these four children--barely trained, with ill-kept equipment, learned his path went through their unprotected hometown. They brought warning back, but Knucklavee arrived too quickly. So the four of them brought out their arms, and met him in battle on the bridge."

"Did they beat him?"

"They were martyred," Blake answered quietly. "But--" She leaned closer, whispering in the excited tone she spoke in whenever telling a story she liked. "Every one in that village survived. Every man and woman, child and baby, got out safely. A day later, soldiers came to reinforce the vampire's attack. The boys had been buried, and no attack came. A sign put above the cairn read, 'honorable and courageous, even til death'."

"They--they did it," Pyrrha whispered. "How--?"

"A miracle only God and Knucklavee know about," Blake replied. She looked up, putting a hand on the glass. "Sound familiar?"

"What?"

"Knucklavee, battling a group of children to the death?" Blake chuckled. "There were a few more this time, though." She pulled Pyrrha into a hug. "Thank you for saving them."

"I...suppose I did save Yang."

"Because you did, you'll have to worry about the Gluttons later," Blake said. "Now, let's worry about Penny."


	26. Chapter 26

The doors to the infirmary opened as Blake strode in, followed by Pyrrha. Blake pulled a chair over to Yang's bedside, sitting down and taking the other's hand in hers. "You alright?" Blake asked. 

"More bones than I've ever broken before, but other than that, yeah," Yang laughed. "Right as a daisy."

Blake looked around, surveying the room. Summer, Ruby, and Weiss sat on the opposite side of Yang's bed. Oscar sat on the ground, examining a sword that had almost certainly never seen combat before. Qrow stood next to him, his young band of soldiers besides him. Nora, Ren, and Neo sat down on a spare bed. 

"Get me next to Penny, I can take her," Blake stated. 

"Um, are you forgetting about the Relic?" Ruby pointed out. "She's currently one of the top five strongest people on the continent--depending on whatever's across the ocean, she might be one of the strongest on the planet."

"The strongest pillar in a house of straw can be taken down by bare hands, yet it is still the strongest pillar," Blake scoffed. "Besides, I plan on trying to talk her down, Miss Rose. Perhaps I'll succeed. If I don't..."

"We have to fight her," Summer said. "I mean, the two of us, together? We could take her, most likely."

Blake sighed. "I'd have appreciated Raven being on our side for this part."

"Yet she knows that she'd be killed on the spot if she steps inside a city on this side of the border, so she's a very large world away from here," Qrow said, sipping from his hip flask. 

"And you don't have any way of contacting her?" Blake asked Qrow. 

"Uh, why would he?" Yang asked. "I mean, friends are friends, but--what's your last name?" She sat up slightly, winced, and fell back down. 

"I have no way of contacting her," Qrow said. "How do we find Penny?"

"I hate to be the one to suggest this," Ren put in, "but I feel like Roman could find her quickly."

"However _you_ know that madman," Blake growled immediately, "we cannot trust him in any capacity. Anything to do with Roman is out of the question."

"Roman? Isn't he your adopted father, Nora?" Summer asked. Blake turned her stunned face to see how Nora replied. 

"Yes," Nora said carefully. "There are many things I don't trust him about, but it sounded like he was fairly against Penny's plot...no offense to the king over there, but he more or less told her, 'I prefer my kings stupid'."'

"He's..." Blake rubbed her face. "Him later. We stay away from him for now, if at all possible."

"But if he can help us--"

"She doesn't seem to be evil for the sake of evil, if you understand what I mean," Blake said. "So I assume that the dhampir is her friend. Everyone likes to keep their friends close, so she will be with the dhampir. And if you hadn't already noticed..."

"Dhampirs have a very distinctive smell," Weiss sighed. "I've heard this before."

"Oh! It's how you found their group at Mantle!" Oscar said, an excited tone rising in his voice. Everyone turned to him, and he let out an awkward cough. "I mean, I feel it is sufficiently likely to work."

"He is still just a kid," Summer chuckled. "Blake, are you sure you can handle Penny?"

"Of course." Blake stood up, stretching out her arms. "I've been fighting for what, fifty, sixty years? Trained by one of the best swordsman to live." She pulled out Gambol Shroud, gave it a swing, then sheathed it. "I should be able to find her tonight."

"Tonight?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty bruised up right now."

"I'm used to fighting while wounded, Branwen," Blake scoffed. "I don't think she is. If it comes to a 'to-the-death', I can win." She strode over to the door, then turned and blocked Pyrrha from following her. "I'd prefer to go alone. If it looks like I'm setting up an ambush, she won't believe anything I say."

"But--"

"Pyrrha." Blake put a hand on her friend's shoulder. She gave her a comforting smile. "I've got this. At worst, I limp away and endure some light mockery."

Pyrrha hesitated, and while she did, Blake left, the door slowly closing behind her. Pyrrha stretched out her hand, touching the door as it closed. She stood there for a moment, then returned to her seat without a word. 

"This is too risky." Maria paced, tapping her cane on the ground repeatedly. Her goggles were removed, and she occasionally stopped to pick something up and look at it. 

Hazel stood above Penny's chair. Penny's breastplate sat on the floor at his feet, while Robyn wound bandages around Penny's stomach. Penny gritted her teeth, clenching her fist around the arm of the chair. "How strong was she?" she breathed. "That armor is unusable now..."

"I don't give a fuck about some stupid blonde," Maria hissed, throwing up one hand. "You attacked the king in front of his bodyguard and his general and foreign dignitaries...you've failed. Especially seeing how you failed, you won't get anyone else to help you. I'm done--I'm going to cut my losses. I want you out of my house and my life. If the fact that I even considered aiding you in this is ever discovered, I'm dead. I will have nowhere to run to."

"Please, she just needs a night for me to cast the spell and for her to recover," Robyn said. "If you just give us--"

 _"No._ " Maria glared at them. "Out. Now."

Penny stood up, straightening her cloak around to cover herself. She turned and managed a half-bow to Maria. "Thank you for your help," she said, sounding strained. Penny turned and walked out the door. "Come now. Let's move." Robyn and Hazel moved out after her, slower, unsure. 

Penny limped into the inn, finding a spare table and sitting down with a hiss. She closed her eyes, leaning back, while Hazel rented a room. Robyn sat beside Penny, putting her hand on the other's shoulder. "What now?"

"Most likely? I don't know," Penny said. "It's not as if we have an army--without Raven, most of the plan relied on stealth."

"A factor that is no longer in play." 

Penny's hand was instantly on her sword, her eyes snapping open. Before she could attack, she felt something cold and gray coil around her arm. Blake held up her empty hands. "I don't want to kill you if I don't have to."

"I prefer to kill as little as possible," Penny replied. 

"...then let's talk," Blake said evenly. Whatever had grabbed her sword arm let go, and Penny set both her hands on the table. 

"I died, around a year and a half ago," Blake began. "I was resurrected, and given a second chance. I died in a prison cell, with only a single friend by my side, and it was all because I was doing what you are doing now."

"Except I am not a psychopathic tyrant," Penny said, "who plans on burning down two countries just because my parents died."

Blake didn't answer for a minute. When she did, it was with a forcefully level tone. "I'm not here to defend actions that I have already admitted were wrong."

"Which, perhaps, is another difference between us. You know what you did is wrong. I know what I'm doing is right."

"Then tell me."

Penny frowned.

"Tell me what you are doing. What's going to happen if you win. How it'll be better for you to be king, why Oscar needs to die, and why he's 'not the one you need'."

"Oscar is supposed to be the son of Ozpin, right? Except no one knew he had a son until Oscar suddenly showed up the day after the king's death. It looks like some people got together to pull the greatest con in several centuries. Some people rally behind him for various reasons, a lot question whether or not he's the actual king, and more don't care and simply try to use that to steal the throne from under him. I was in the second category until earlier, for the record. I never believed he was the actual king."

"And his wife would somehow be more legitimate?" Blake asked skeptically. 

"Not really, no. But with a Relic and an army behind me, no one _could_ take the throne by force," Penny replied. Blake nodded, closing her eyes. "I presume it's the only reason why Salem kept her throne after the war--her power. Without anyone willing to challenge one of the Relics, she stays perfectly safe."

"Close enough," Blake said, not wishing to explain the truth behind Salem to her. "But you don't have an army. And unlike Salem, you're mortal."

"I don't believe Salem is completely immortal, first and foremost," Penny scoffed. "But--that's the unplanned part."

"It's why you had Raven," Blake guessed. 

Penny nodded. "It's going to be very hard without her."

"You know, there's another army that would be much easier to use," Blake said, tossing up one hand casually. 

"What--" Penny glared at her, confused. 

"You said that you don't hate Oscar as much as you did. Now that you know he's actually the legitimate king, and he's trying his best, have you considered what would happen if you actually married him, but kept the Relic?"

Penny thought it over, straightening in her seat as plans fit into place. 

"You'd have the legitimacy of Oscar's right, the backing of an army and a Relic, no one has to die, and you don't have to worry about people claiming you assassinated him," Blake said, smiling. "Isn't that your best case scenario?"

"I did try to kill him, though," Penny pointed out. 

"What's an attempted murder between friends?" Blake said, waving it off. "I've tried to kill a lot of my friends. They get over it--especially if that friend says sorry and is doing her best to help. Right?"

Penny considered it. "I have no proof that I wouldn't be killed on sight as soon as I entered the castle."

"Meet on neutral ground. You may not trust me, but how about Oscar?" Blake said. "Meet him and a few of his guards--"

"Two, and I don't want the War Rose among them," Penny said firmly. 

"Done. Where?"

"The fountain memorial to Ozpin, twelve tonight. It's secluded enough so that we should be on our own."

"Done." Blake got up and left quickly, cloak whipping around as she moved.

"Do you think this will work?" Robyn asked. 

"It's worth a shot," Penny said. "If he brings more than two, we leave immediately. And if the War Rose comes within a mile--we run. She would be the only one able to keep up, and we can take just a Master vampire. The Butcher's right--that is our best case scenario."

"I--have a bad feeling about this," Robyn answered. 

Penny put a hand on the dhampir's shoulder. "Things are good now. No one is as bad as the Gluttons are."


	27. Chapter 27

"Just like that? That easy?" Oscar drummed his fingers on his table, still broken from when Blake had taken out her anger on it. 

"I'm working on a countermeasure or two," Blake said, flipping through the book on magic. "But yes. This is the most beneficial outcome for all involved parties. So it should be this easy, at least once."

"I don't trust this," Qrow said. 

"I've known her a long time," Ironwood said. "She doesn't like to unnecessarily spill blood."

"Since you've already proven yourself able to talk with her, I'd like you to come as one of my guards, Miss Belladonna," Oscar requested. 

"Good, because I planned on it."

"Qrow, you'll be my other one."

Qrow nodded, looking slightly appeased. 

"Why doesn't she want Mom going?" Ruby asked. 

"My magic would make it very hard for her to escape, should she have to run," Summer said. "Most vampires cannot manifest magic in any physical way, aside from the standard magic bolt." She held up a glowing silver rose, letting it twinkle in her hand. "Blake couldn't kill everyone. During the war, I dragged back most of the ones that got away from her."

"Except I don't plan on doing any fighting while we're out," Blake said. She picked up a peace of paper, writing a Runic symbol on it. Ruby looked over at it, frowning. "Uh--wall?"

"Do you not know Runic?" Blake asked skeptically. "It says 'shield'. Because I've imbued the page with some of my magic, it will manifest itself as a shield should harm befall anyone else who holds it. The magic will then return to me." She stepped over and handed it to Oscar. "Tuck that in a pocket, don't fold it in half. It's fine if it gets slightly wrinkled."

Oscar nodded his thanks. "Have you done this before? Do you not have access to your magic while I have this?"

"Back in the day, I was strong enough so that I could pass out three of these to a bunch of close friends. So was Summer. Now...it's a little more taxing than I remember."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Summer asked. "How fast will you be able to heal him with a protect rune out?"

"I don't plan on having to," Blake scoffed. "If it comes to a fight, Qrow should be able to handle that 'Hazel' guy--he is only human, after all--and I am not too worried about Robyn, because she has no combat experience. That leaves me to deal with the heavily injured Penny. And if I can't do that--" She shrugged. "Then what? I limp away? Assuming she goes for the kill, I should be able to escape."

"Be safe," Pyrrha said hesitantly. 

Blake reached over and ruffled her hair. "Of course, Pyr. Keep an eye on Yang and Weiss for me, will ya?"

Pyrrha nodded as Blake stood. "Come on. Let's get going."

"But the meeting isn't for hours yet," Oscar pointed out. 

"Yet she'll almost certainly arrive an hour early, so we'll arrive an hour before her," Blake replied. "How's your incognito?"

Penny rubbed her side. "They're already here," Robyn said.

"Of course they are," Penny muttered. "Just three?"

"Oscar, Blake...one other that I don't know. He was with the king at the castle, though."

"It would be Qrow. He hates other people trying to do his job." Penny looked around. "You think we'll get enough privacy like this?"

"In this corner of town?" Hazel scoffed. "So many people make illegal deals in this alley that it would be hard to listen in on just one of them. Besides, most of these people are trying not to get their backs stabbed or focusing on their own conversations."

"I wasn't aware this city had such an active crime network."

"It didn't. Until recently. Oscar has let it rise up."

"I don't think it was intentional," Penny said. "Come on. Let's greet them."

The two groups met at a large bench in the center of a poorly decorated square, directly in front of the fountain. True to Hazel's word, no one payed them any intention. Not many people were out, and several were involved in trading off to the sides of the road. Two people appeared to be arguing over a price for an absurd metal walking cane, oddly lumpy with several protrusions sticking off at various points. 

Penny sat on the bench, opposite to Oscar. Blake and Qrow stood behind him, so Robyn and Hazel took an identical stance behind Penny. Penny almost laughed at Oscar's casual wear, which succeeded in looking like a farm boy, but failed in that no farm boy would have been able to afford clothing that high quality. He, bizarrely, had a scrap of paper tucked into a back pocket. 

"You played me like a fiddle, Belladonna," Penny stated. 

"Bold of you to assume I know how to play a fiddle," Blake chuckled. 

"Oscar. I assume Blake told you what the two of us talked about earlier?"

"Yes. And I agree--it would be greatly beneficial for both parties if we worked together on this."

"Seeing you in this new light, I don't think I'd much oppose being married to you," Penny mused. "And with the added strength of House Polendina to strengthen your claim, it'll be less likely for anyone else to try seizing the throne. Plus, if I reveal the magic I carry, then we can pretty much guarantee the throne, and move on to the other issues."

"Exactly! The issues I've wanted to fix since my coronation," Oscar nodded vigorously. "Father left to many wounds in this country. Anything close to the border will occasionally suffer from a Grimm attack, and the growing paranoia and superstition around their threatens another war. You'd think that being closer to people that know vampires would lessen the fear of them."

"And...even after everything..." Penny hesitated. "You'd forgive me?"

"Sure. You seem to have a good heart, and as I said when accepting the arranged marriage proposal--more friends never hurt anyone, right?"

"More friends, no. But...you'd trust me?"

"Soon enough, at least." He shrugged. "I know I'll always have Qrow looking out for me, and I can't think of anything you can slip under his eagle eyes."

"Damn right, and don't you forget it," Qrow told Penny.

Penny nodded. "Together, we can fix this country. Create a place Father would have been proud of. End the crime, that I'm seeing a large amount of at the moment."

"I wasn't aware of the situation of the criminal underworld," Oscar replied. "It's distressing, to say the least."

"Great." Penny stood, extending a hand formally. "It'll be a pleasure to work with you, Os--" 

Blake pulled Oscar aside, seeing, from the corner of her eyes, the two people arguing over the strange stick as the one holding it straightened it out and pointed it directly at their group. An echoing bang, like a thunderclap, split the air as Roby tackled Penny and shoved her out of the way. A projectile struck her, piercing through her shoulder and collar bone, and falling to the cobblestones. Blake lunged, closing the distance quickly and skewering the assassin. His friend tried snatching the weapon, but fell dead beside his friend. 

" _Robyn!_ " Penny looked at her friend in shock, holding her. "No--what--" She looked up, glaring in fury at Blake, then Oscar. "You--dodged before the attack."

"He started moving. I didn't know--"

"Perhaps _you_ didn't," Penny snarled. She lifted Robyn, passing the dhampir to Hazel. Several swords of ice formed in the air around her, floating menacingly. "You set me up, didn't you?"

"No! I promise!" Oscar held up his hands. "I don't know who they were!"

Blake rushed over, but found an ice blade pointed at her throat as Penny turned to face her. Qrow pulled Oscar behind him, sword out. "I'm a dhampir. Let me heal her," Blake said. 

Penny lowered the blade as Hazel went down on one knee. Blake moved in close, struggling with her magic. "Tear the slip!" she told Oscar. 

"What?"

"The protect rune, dammit! The paper I gave you!"

He quickly pulled it out and tore it in half, and Blake felt the load on her magic ease. Robyn closed her eyes as the wounds slowly closed. "You never got any medical training," Blake whispered. 

"Nah. It was...low on the Glutton's list of priorities," Robyn struggled. 

"It's okay...just stay with me." The wound closed, Blake reached over and touched her collar bone. "Fuck," she hissed through clenched teeth. "It broke the bone? What did it even fire?"

"This." Penny reached over and showed Blake a small, dented pellet. 

"It's not magic," Blake said, sensing none from the projectile or the weapon. "I've stopped the bleeding...but we need to get you somewhere to recover." She hesitated, stepping back. "Hazel, Qrow. One of you need to carry her." Hazel stooped down to pick up his friend while Blake stumbled back, looking at the large amount of blood on her arms. She shuddered, then shoved them into the fountain to clean herself off. 

"Let's go back to the castle." 


	28. Chapter 28

"They're back," Pyrrha said, smelling Blake. She sniffed again, taking in the scent of blood. _Oh no..._

Hazel brought in Robyn, setting her down on the first bed he found. Blake followed them in, carrying an odd weapon and a small ball. "Any of you know what this is?"

"No," Weiss said as Pyrrha shook her head. Yang, no longer sleepy, sat up slightly, frowning. "Is she okay?"

"I'm fine," Robyn said. 

"You took a...whatever this is...for me." Penny knelt down, taking the dhampir's hand in her own. "You have my thanks."

"That's a first. Never been thanked before." She laughed. "I like it."

"Rest," Penny said. "I swear, we'll find our would-be assassins and kill them."

"What happened?" Ren asked as he came into the room. Neo and Nora followed him, and Neo gasped. 

"Where'd you get that?" 

Blake turned, carefully handing it to Neo. Neo, with skill, put it on level with her face, staring down the length of the weapon. "It's called a 'gun'."

"Isn't that...the thing Roman had?" Nora asked. 

Neo nodded. "A vampire weaponsmith by the name Arthur invented it six years back. He'd done something to get kicked out of the palace, disgraced by Salem, and readily took up work under Roman. When I was last with him...these weren't for sale." She detached a protrusion from the gun, shaking it. It made an odd rattling sound. 

"This is too bold for Roman," Nora said. "He knows the two of us are here, and would know its him. He works in secrecy."

"'Cept he's already in the limelight," Neo pointed out. "With these two no longer at each other's throats, Roman will no longer have time to set up shop before the king learns anything about his presence. He tried setting up in the human capital during the war, but Ozpin found him out and went after him. Note, however, that Salem is fully aware of his presence in her capital. She can't do anything about it, however, because of how vast his empire is. Even if she fully stamped him out of the capital, he's already in just about every single town on her side of the border. Once he has his prep time..."

"There's no getting rid of him," Penny finished. "When I met him...he didn't sound happy with the idea of me taking the throne."

"He...'likes his kings stupid'...right, Nora?" Oscar scoffed, a dark look crossing his face. "Willing to kill for it."

"Absolutely, but this still seems to bold for him," Nora said, looking around the room. "Either his policies changed, and he sold a gun, or it was stolen."

"You think someone got away with _stealing_ from _Roman?_ " Neo hissed, aghast. 

"There's a first time for everything."

"Regardless...he is scum and villainy that I want out of my kingdom. Nora, I'd appreciate it if you could lead the way to that library of his. I want him arrested--or at the very least, on the run."

"I'll take a company of my best men," Qrow said with a nod. "I'll leave Coco and her team with you."

"I have to stay here to care for Yang and Robyn," Blake said slowly. "But Summer has to go with. I've fought Roman once before, he is skilled. Not the strongest opponent, but definitely wily."

"He is a Master vampire, he deserves a whole lot of caution and respect," Neo pointed out, pulling out her umbrella. 

"Hold on," Weiss said. "Shouldn't we take a moment to plan?"

"He's potentially already moving locations," Neo pointed out. "If he knows we're looking for him, he won't put his sigil on the doors. I don't think we'd ever find him."

"Let's get this over with," Nora said. "Who's going, who's staying?"

"I'll go," Ruby said. 

"Not a chance," Summer replied, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. 

"Um, I am skilled enough to--"

"You are my daughter, and I will always treat you as such," Summer interrupted. "He is a Master vampire. In my current state, I think I would lose to him, one-on-one, and due to the nature of his magic, he can fight a dozen people at once. Please. Stay."

"Alright." Ruby pulled out a crimson scythe, handing it to Summer. "Yours, I believe?"

"You painted it," Summer muttered. "Ah, well. It suits you better, but I'll use it one more time."

"Stay safe," Blake said. 

"With everyone coming, we'll be fine," Summer said, chuckling. "No, I won't underestimate him, but I won't over worry, either."

"Where is everyone?" Neo stepped through the doors, looking at row upon row of empty shelves. "We didn't miss him, did we?"

"I...didn't think he would have actually tried something like that," Nora muttered. "It's way to reckless for him."

"I smell him," Summer said, striding past the other two. Rows of spearman followed behind her as she stepped past the empty shelves, kicking open the door to Roman's office. 

"I hadn't thought you'd be here so quickly," Roman's voice came. Nora stepped up quickly, seeing the back of Roman's chair. He faced the wall at the back, the fireplace roaring. "I was thinking I could say a few last goodbyes to this place."

Neo hooked the chair with her umbrella, spinning it around. Roman sat stiffly, eyes closed. "You knew that wouldn't work and you'd just get caught," Nora said. "Even if they had killed Penny, what would you have done then? You'd still have been caught."

"Perhaps. But I did do it, and I failed. Now it is the end for me."

"You're...giving up?" Summer asked, suspicious. 

"Oh, sure, I could kill a lot of people on my way out, but what's the point? Why not just accept my dues?"

Nora had never known Roman to be still. But here was, motionless. He had something planned. She lifted up one foot and kicked hard at Roman's head. It snapped off, the splintering sound of wood filling the room. Blood--it smelled like Roman's--leaked out of the splintered replica. 

"Ah. Of course," it said in Roman's tone. "Should have known it wouldn't fool you as long as I had hoped."

"Please. You've never gotten sentimental about anything...let alone some random building you've spent under a month in," Nora scoffed. 

"Oh, that's not true. You and Neo left, didn't you?" The longer it spoke, the more its voice creaked and groaned. "Ah, you broke it. Cordovin's magic won't last long now."

"What?"

"Well, I guess you'll see me around sometime," he finished. "I would have perhaps liked a min--ute longer to speak to you. But oh well. You know...Pyrrha Nikos? Tell her...good...luck..."

The head fell off, rolling on the ground. 

"So." Summer picked it up, letting its blood drip. "Did that happen?"

"We need to get back," Nora said, rushing back past them. "I don't like anything he said."

"Bold of me to assume this was over with that," Summer growled, following her out. 


	29. Chapter 29

"Healed already?" Blake asked, helping Yang stand. 

"Um...decently so," Yang replied. She stretched, wincing at the pain. 

Blake raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She moved back over to Robyn, lifting the cloth from the dhampir's shoulder and examining the wound. "Guns." Blake swapped it out for a fresh one, shaking her head as she through the blood-soaked one in a hamper. "Everyone only thinks about new ways to hurt each other. Nothing will ever get better if people don't _want_ it to get better."

"Well, what's one more thing for us who want it to get better to do?" Penny asked, smiling. 

"You have a much better attitude about this," Blake said. 

"Part of it for you? I think it's guilt." Blake turned to Ren, who continued speaking in a level tone. "My father aided in your slaughtering of a large number of old war generals. Not an easy thing for a kind-hearted person to do. He's wracked with guilt over that. Trying to repay his crimes..."

"Something I can relate to," Blake muttered. She leaned back in her chair, frowning. "Penny, you don't seem particularly bothered by guilt. How do you deal with it?"

"Um, it's kind of different for me than it is for you."

"How so?"

"Because...I didn't really 'do' anything seriously wrong. Asides from Yang's injuries--by the way, you have my sincere apologies for that--I didn't really succeed in anything. I proposed a lot of things, but did nothing. Which I am grateful for, because I would have regretted it sooner or later."

"No harm, no foul, right?" Yang chuckled. 

"Hey. I just realized something." Ruby looked up to meet the gaze of the room. "If you're willing to take some liberties with what sound W makes, the first letter of all our names spells out 'Ruby'."

"What?" Weiss frowned. 

"R-W-B-Y. And since W is 'double U', it's not actually that much of a leap," Blake laughed. 

"Um, no! You can't just do that!" Weiss spluttered. 

"You're just mad cuz it's your letter she's mispronouncing, Ice Queen," Yang laughed, kissing Weiss on the cheek. 

"Of course I am," Weiss agreed. 

Everyone laughed at that. Robyn's laugh was interrupted by a yawn, and Blake said, "Alright. Let's let her heal up. I've done what I can, but time will have to do the rest. Let's leave."

Penny looked up, concerned. "Can...I stay with her?"

Blake started to reply, but Yang interrupted with, "Go ahead. Just don't keep her awake, alright?"

Penny nodded, grateful, and Yang stepped over to put a hand on the queen-to-be's shoulder. As Blake passed, Yang said, "I know what it's like."

The rest of the group filtered out into a main seating room, most stretching. "Blake?" Weiss asked slowly, seeing the dhampir stand still. "I'm okay, Blake. I really am"

Blake sniffed. Then again, her cat ears perking up on top of her head. She pulled out her sword, pointing it towards one of the room's closed doors. "Weapons out," she said firmly. 

Before any of them had time to react, the door shattered, a dhampir flying through and sliding across the ground, face bruised and bleeding. Pyrrha stepped after him, spear and shield out. "Attackers!" she cried, ducking into the room before a whip of blood shot after her. Two more dhampirs stepped into the room after her, and from the nearby doors came in four more, and finally, two vampires in white and red robes. 

"A promise is a promise," one said. 

"And should always be kept," finished the other. 

"Who are you?" Blake said, pointing her blade at them. 

"Corsac and Fennec Albain," one introduced, bowing. 

"We are the friends in the dark," the other said stiffly. 

"You're with Roman," Ren said, picking up a candlestick, ready to club with it. Blake waved him back, staring down the dhampirs. 

"I take it this is about Penny," Blake said. "Roman never liked losing, I recall."

"He's gotten used to it," Corsac said. 

"That isn't what this is about," Fennec replied. 

"Penny never killed Cordovin...so how did she get one of their dhampirs from them?" Blake asked. 

"Well, she promised to kill the king if she could only have the magic of a Relic," Corsac said. 

"Of course, that wasn't enough for Crown, you know," Fennec answered. "Penny promised to kill Pyrrha Nikos, and has no intention of keeping that promise."

"She could have mentioned that," Pyrrha muttered 

"Stand aside," Corsac said. 

"No, you don't need to die today," Fennec said. "Dear Nora is quite fond of most of you--though I feel less fond of you, Butcher."

"Well...I don't particularly need her to like me. _PENNY! ATTACKERS COME FOR YOU!"_

Corsac hissed through his teeth. "You needn't have done that."

"I didn't need to do a lot of things. Just this one, I won't regret." She pointed her sword at the two vampires as the dhampirs circled around their group. 

"Let's do this," Ruby said, fists glowing with red magic. 


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Volume 3 spoiling easter egg for those who care(it actually is almost easter, which really caught me off guard this year)--Penny being told to kill Pyrrha was unintentionally mirroring the cannon. When I wrote that scene, I had completely forgotten that Pyrrha killed Penny and the whole PVP fight. 
> 
> Also, if you haven't finished the third volume of RWBY, why are you reading fanfiction anyway? >:(

"Stay defensive!" Ruby said, forming a ring with her friends. Blake shoved the unarmed Ren into the center, taking the candlestick from him and holding it in her off hand. One of the dhampirs struck out with a blood whip, which splattered uselessly against the ground. 

"That's always fun to do," Yang grinned. 

"Oh, yes it is," Blake said, matching Yang's grin. "But we won't be able to do anything like this. Yang, with me now!" 

"Al--" Before Yang finished, a tendril wrapped around her arm, and Blake swung her like a flail. As Yang arced across the room, she threw out a punch at the closest enemy, missing wildly. Yang was thrown into the air, and slammed her fist into the ground. The shock knocked back the dhampirs, but Corsac and Fennec managed to stand their ground. As Yang stared in shock at the two of them, Blake jumped over her shoulder, stabilizing her leap by grabbing hold of Yang, and kicked at Fennec, knocking the gun out of his hands. Corsac turned and fired at her, twice. Blake's sword flashed, and the clang of steel filled the room. The window shattered as the bullets flung out it. Corsac's jaw dropped in shock, and Yang took the opportunity to slam her shoulder into him, slamming him into the wall. She found herself back to back with Blake, mirroring the Butcher's stance with her own, their legs squared up against each other. Two dhampirs moved in to attack them, but Pyrrha tackled one, bashing with her shield. Weiss lunged and struck the other upside the head with the handle of her rapier. The dhampir pulled out a shortsword, trading some thrusts with the heiress. A small crossbow bolt pierced through her wrist, knocking the sword from her hand, and Weiss punched the dhampir full in the face, throwing them backwards. Ren ducked beneath a blood whip. Each dhampir had a large open wound running from their wrists to elbows, and the blood freely flowed into a bladed ring encircling the dhampir. 

Ruby found herself face to face with a dhampir and realized that they were all women, and briefly wondered about that. It almost cost her her life, and she narrowly managed to keep her head on as she ducked beneath the blood ring. She fired a magic blast into the dhampir's stomach, and the staggered backwards, falling to one knee. Ruby turned to face another dhampir and stupidly said, "You want a piece of this?"

Without changing facial expressions, the dhampir attacked, but her blood ring suddenly disappeared, the blood splattering against the floor. Ruby didn't hesitate to put all her magic into a single blast, hitting them full on. The dhampir hit a wall, which cracked beneath her. She seemed only winded, and Ruby noticed the gray shell that had protected their back. She heard a noise behind her, and turned to create a shield to block the attack of the other dhampir she'd hit. Ren lunged, plunging his dagger-weapon into the dhampir's face. Carapace grew immediately, the blade breaking. Luckily, the carapace cracked as well. Ruby struck a hard blow, blasting him in the face. Ren kicked, knocking the dhampir back. The second dhampir Ruby's been fighting jumped in the path, gritting her teeth as the blood she had formed into a barrier. Ruby spared a glance towards her friends, and her eyes settled on Weiss, in combat, and behind her, Blake, poised in mid air, striking at Fennec with one hand. From the angle she saw, it looked as if Blake was over Weiss. Ruby remembered back, two years ago, when Weiss had lunged in front of the vampire to save her a blow from Blake. A scar that Weiss still had. Ruby fired a blast, and hit Blake full on, throwing her into the side of the room. 

Dead silence filled the room, and all fighting momentarily stopped. Ruby covered her mouth, hissing, "Whoops."

Blake landed on her feet, stumbling, and looked up at Ruby. "The FUCK, Rose?!?" she cried. 

"Sorry!" Ruby called out to the dhampir. Yang intercepted Corsac, throwing the gun from his hands and punching him back. Ren ducked into a roll, picking the gun up from the ground, and pointed it at the two dhampirs he and Ruby had been fighting. Whatever he did worked, as the gun fired, the bullet breaking through the blood shield and hitting the dhampir's shoulder. It didn't break the shell, but it evidently hurt. Weiss came in from behind, impaling the dhampir with her rapier. The blood shield broke apart as the dhampir pulled back, healing herself. The other jumped up, pulling her friend back and striking out with a blood whip. The one who'd been shot ran from the room, fleeing. Ruby turned to see Pyrrha shoved back by two at once. Ruby threw out her hands, firing off a spree of bolts. The dhampirs turned their attention to deflect her attack. Pyrrha lunged immediately, ramming her spear through one and impaling her to a wall and bashing her face with a shield. Pyrrha spun on her toes, her shield glancing off the dhampir's shield. Ruby grinned at the success, but nearly got rammed by Fennec as he flung across the room. Yang followed, jumping on top of him and pummeling with her fists. Ruby stared in shock as Yang got shoved off. Fennec rolled to his feet, his outer cloak having been thrown to the side at some point during the fight. He met Yang, their hands going together as they shoved against each other. Ruby felt herself thrown to the side as Blake tackled her. A bullet fired over her head as the two rolled across the ground. 

"Battlefield awareness, Ruby," Blake gasped, jumping to her feet. She had multiple cuts on her shoulders, arms, and stomach, actively bleeding, and one wound that looked like it was from a bullet. Corsac fired again, and the blood formed a glove over Blake's hand as she caught the bullet. Her sword was missing, and Ruby looked up as two dhampirs closed in. There were three left, Ruby realized. Two had fled, and one was pinned to a wall, trying in vain to pull the spear from her chest. It appeared that her wound had healed around it, making it nearly impossible for her to pull it out. Ruby fired a blast at Fennec, and he dodged to the side. The remaining dhampirs stood in front of him, each one with a shortsword in their hand. Their blood rings were gone, their faces grim. Fennec stumbled away from Yang, face bloody, spinning over to growl at her. A bullet hit the wall behind him, missing him by a foot. Ren fired again, but the gun just clicked uselessly. Fennec laughed, but suddenly realized he was cut off from his allies. Weiss lunged, slashing at him. He blocked with his hands, gray carapace appearing over the back of his hands. Yang decked him in the face, knocking out a tooth as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Yang turned to Corsac, eyes flashing Red. Blake leapt forward, attacking the dhampirs. Her tendrils wrapped around one's legs, pulling her off her feet as Blake lunged over and stabbed at a second. One dhampir fell to the ground as the other met Blake's blade. They whipped up some blood, but it fell to the ground as Yang tried to control it. Blake pulled up some blood of her own, but the dhampir canceled it out with a thrust of their hand. Gambol Shroud pierced their shoulder as Blake jumped on top of them, throwing them to the ground. She kneed their stomach as Corsac pointed the gun at her. Weiss through her sword, skewering his shoulder. She stepped over, punching at the dhampir who had been sneaking up on Blake. The dhampir wasn't bothered by the attack, shoving her back, but a blast from Ruby followed it up. She slammed against the wall, head jerking, and after regaining herself, fled like the others. 

_Must have been an order,_ Ruby thought, seeing as how all of them had run. The remaining dhampirs also ran--including the one Blake had just got off of. Yang stepped over, stretching out a hand to him. "Buddy, you really don't have to do this. Come on--they can't be that good people, can they?"

Corsac considered her statement, then took her hand. He pulled her off balance, putting the gun to her head and rising to his feet. "Don't move! Any of you!" he cried. "You all know there's no bringing her back from the dead!"

Blake fell into a crouch, coiled to spring as Corsac backed up beside the window. "Make a wrong move, punk," Blake growled. "Come on. Just let her go."

"Where is your spine, Butcher?" Corsac hissed. "Where is the monster that wanted to burn humanity to ashes? Where is the one who talked Knucklavee into joining her crusade?"

"She's dead and gone, dude," Yang said, holding up her hands. "And unless you drop the gun right now, you will be to."

"You're in no position to make threats," Corsac laughed. 

"'Threat' implies it would be me killing you. That was a warning."

Corsac looked up, seeing several black birds perched on surfaces near the window. The ravens all cocked their heads in unison, all looking at him. "Are you trying to scare me with birds?" he hissed. "Do you think I'm a child scared of fairy tales?"

Yang bit her lip, breaking the skin and bleeding. The blood crawled across her cheek, but didn't move afterwards. Blake lifted out her hand, and the blood moving quickly and piercing through the gun and knocking it out of Corsac's hand. A bullet hit the wall, the gun falling to the floor. Yang broke free, slamming her elbow into his stomach and backing away. He doubled over, then straightened up. Yang looked over to the ravens, calling out, "Wait! You don't have to--"

The ravens swarmed, an unkindness of them flying in through the broken window and surrounding Corsac. A couple of magic blasts went through the swarm, but did nothing. The smell of blood filled the room in seconds, a red mist flying from the vampire. Corsac disappeared in the swarm of feathers, screaming in pain as strips of cloth fell to the ground. Very quickly, the screams died out, and the ravens flew on out the window, leaving nothing but a stripped skeleton and the haunting memory of dying screams. 

The dhampir that remained pinned to the wall stopped struggling with the spear, jaw dropped. No one spoke for a long time, everyone aghast. 

"Did she--" Weiss spluttered, then finished. "Did she _eat_ him?"

Blake stepped over, touching one of the scattered bones. "Picked clean," she whispered. 

"Fuuuuuuuck," Ruby whispered. 

"Your mother disapproves of foul language, Ruby," Blake pointed out. She stood up, kicking the skull across the ground. It rolled, bouncing off the wall and rolling back to her foot. "But...it's over."


	31. Chapter 31

Blake stepped away from the bones, moving over to the dhampir still pinned to the wall. She took hold of Pyrrha's spear, and firmly pulled it from the dhampir's chest. She tossed it to Pyrrha, while the dhampir collapsed to the ground. The dhampir gasped, doubling over herself. Blake knelt down next to her. "It's alright. We aren't like them." The dhampir looked up, eyes full of fear. Blake smiled encouragingly at her. "I'm Blake Belladonna. What's your name?"

"F-Fiona. Fiona Thyme."

"It's okay. You don't have to obey them anymore." Fiona's eyes widened at what Blake said, then she grabbed the Butcher in a hug. Blake chuckled, smiling as she patted her on the back. "It's okay." Blake stood up, the dhampir stepping back to look around the room. 

"What do we do with Fennec?" Yang asked.

"Chains," Blake said. 

"Anyone know where chains are?"

"What the fuck--" Coco Adel stepped into the room, eyes wide. "Where--where are the guards on duty?"

"Oh my God," Velvet gasped, looking at the skeleton. Blake stepped through the door, going down the hall to the infirmary. "So. You're alright?"

"Long story," Yang said as she passed Coco and Velvet. They looked into the room, seeing Penny holding up a sword in one hand and a severed arm in the other. Penny lifted up the arm, saying, "Well, thanks to your warning, yeah. I wasn't paying attention, didn't see them come into the room. Thanks to you, though--" She gave a mock salute, grinning. "I was combat ready, but willing to let them run away. I didn't know who else was coming, after all." She tossed the arm to the side. 

"Crown didn't want any of us...'going to waste'..." Fiona muttered. "Robyn!"

"Fiona? Oh, it's good to see you, little sister!" Robyn laughed as Fiona rushed in to hug her. 

"The Glutton's slaves call each other 'sister' because for all they know, they might be," Blake explained quickly. "None of them know their parent."

"Given the situation they were in? I don't think I'd have wanted to," Robyn answered, smiling semi-confidently. 

"Is anyone else not looking forward to explaining this to Oscar?" Weiss asked. Right on cue, a voice cried out, "OH MY GOD! IS--IS THAT A SKELETON?"

Blake sighed. "Oh, boy."

Shortly after, Qrow, Summer, and their group arrived back, and Blake quickly explained the situation to all of them. They told of what they saw, as well. 

"It's a very old trick used by the magically gifted," Blake sighed. "Usually, I believe, it requires a Master vampire _and_ a dhampir, which is fairly hard to get. But...as I perhaps should have mentioned earlier, Roman works with the Gluttons at least a decent amount of the time."

"Um..." Ruby raised a hand. "I know I'm not the only one thinking this, but who the heck are the Gluttons?"

"Vampires that went beyond simply drinking human blood," Blake said. "They ate the whole person as well. Moreover, they adopted the already banned practice of breeding dhampir servants through a method...brutal. Each of their mothers has one of the Gluttons rewire their entire body, ending in most of the blood vessels being on the outside, and tricking the body into creating a dhampir daughter."

"Good God," Penny whispered, looking to the other room where Fiona and Robyn were. 

"Interestingly enough, these dhampirs are all female," Blake said casually, lifting a wine glass that had been provided. She sipped it delicately, adding, "I don't believe anyone's tried figuring out why."

"Wasn't...Knucklavee one of them?" Pyrrha answered. 

Blake nodded. "Their forms were altered to the point where they don't look human anymore--though Cordovin and Knucklavee certainly look better than their third partner."

"You said...he'd come back?" 

"That he will--though, I believe it's a one-time ticket for him," Blake said. "They have this magic set up. So when the time is right, after one dies, they can create a new body for him out of the mountain of corpses and pull his soul from Heaven. They seemed pretty certain it'll work...once each. Or at least, that's what he told me when he offered it to me."

Oscar raised an eyebrow. 

"Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the Gluttons to join in during the war. Except Knucklavee, who liked me enough to offer a seat at their table. I...politely declined. Knucklavee then offered me a chance to live again, once I died, and believe it or not, I told him that once was enough for me."

"While all of that is horrifying enough, Salem explained about the drinking of human blood and why it was so bad to me, and also why it benefited the sinner," Oscar said. "Yet Raven--a human--ate the flesh of a vampire. Will that do anything?"

"It's impossible to say for sure," Blake said, shrugging. 

"Are you worried about her, Qrow?" Yang asked. "She is your sister, isn't she?"

Qrow sighed. "I'm sure, one way or another, she'll be alright," he said. 

Yang nodded. "I kind of feel the same."

"Get your rest, everyone," Blake said, stretching. "There's a couple of other places where some of Salem's magic books are aaaand nevermind, because." Blake turned to Penny. "You helped Calavera fix her eyes."

"Yeah? So?"

"Greater Restoration?"

"I believe that was the spell," Penny answered. 

"And tore out the page."

"I thought it would be nice to have on hand," Penny said. "Probably should heal Robyn with it. I'm sure she'd appreciate that."

"And the twenty people I wronged would probably appreciate the chance to become _humans_ again," Blake added, stretching out a hand. Penny pulled, from a pocket, a crumpled, slightly dirty page. Blake straightened it out, reading. "Here it is."

"Really? And it's really that strong?" Yang asked. 

"It pretty much knocked me out when I cast it," Penny warned. "Some of these spells take a lot out of you."

"I won't mind that much. I'm used to being exhausted." Blake shrugged, smiling. "I can cast it again once we get to Salem's castle, for the vampires. We can cast it tomorrow morning, heal all our injuries. And Nora? I suppose you ought to make a decision soon. Human, or vampire?"

"I mean...I won't have access to any magics if I'm human," Nora said. "I feel like I'm going to need magic for what's coming. And...being human...being normal would probably be nice...but I think I've gotten a little to used to vampire magics. If anything, I want to figure out how to become a Master vampire. That seems like it'll be worth my time."

"Yes, but...much, much later." Blake smiled around at the group. "Tomorrow, I want to start heading back to...I kind of need a place to live, don't I?"

"You know, I've been thinking," Ruby said. "Salem's castle is good and all...but I miss our home. House Rose. How hard would it be to...rebuild it? So we can be closer to Nora?"

"Um, it'll be ludicrously expensive, but--what is money for?" Summer shrugged, smiling. "Why not?"

"How okay are you with me living in your house?" Blake asked slowly. 

"It'll become easier with time," Weiss answered. 

"Sorry again for...uh...shooting you," Ruby apologized. 

"Don't worry about it," Blake said, waving it off. "Friendly fire is a common enough occurrence if you aren't used to combat."

Ruby considered saying more, but with so many around, decided not to. There'd be time for sadness later--after all, they'd just won, hadn't they? She smiled, sitting back and for the first time, drank some wine. This was a time to celebrate. "To our victory, and to the redemption of Blake, the Rose-Thorn," Ruby said, jokingly poetic, raising her wine glass to toast. 

"Here, here!" 


End file.
